The third morning of the 2023 World Rowing Under 23 Championships saw a block of Repechages, some of which were racing for places in Semifinals whereas others were contesting for the final slots in medal races. The session concluded with the first two A/B Semifinals, both of which were fiercely contested and indicated that we should expect some exciting Finals.

Women’s Eight, Romania, 2023 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria © World Rowing / Benedict Tufnell

Disappointment for Romania

Italy was in the dangerous fifth place in the Repechage of the women’s eight for the first quarter of the race, but soon after the 500m, they overhauled Romania. With just four places up for grabs in the A-Final, the Romanian crew just didn’t have enough to get into the qualification zone and their Championships sadly came to an end.

Defending World Champions back in the mix

It was perhaps a surprise to see the defending World Rowing U23 Champions Andrada-Maria Morosanu and Iulia-Liliana Balauca of Romania in the Repechage of the women’s double, but they had been beaten by a strong looking British crew in the Heats. The Romanian duo have now secured their place in the medal Final, scheduled for Sunday, where they will be looking to be back on the podium.

Great Britain secure place in women’s four final

Two Repechages were contested in the women’s four with two places in the medal final up for grabs from each. The first race saw Australia lead from the start while Germany gradually worked their way through the pack to take the second qualifying place. In the second Repechage, Great Britain, who won silver in this boat class last year, looked dominant throughout while Chile moved up through the places to cross the line in the all-important second place.

First A/B semifinals completed

The men’s pair was the first boat class to have A/B Semifinals which were the last two races of this morning’s session. There was absolute elation from the home supporters as an impressive final sprint from Tsvetomir Malinov and Ivan Yankulov enabled them to go through from fourth to second on the closing stages. It was disappointment for Germany who finished fourth and will have to settle for the B-Final.

Change to Saturday’s schedule

Due to the forecasted heat, there has been a change to the schedule for tomorrow, Saturday 22 July. A revised programme is now available here.

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Daily Digest: Heats completed at World Rowing Under 23 Championships

Daily Digest: Racing for final places

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