Zagreb’s Lake Jarun provided slightly windy conditions throughout first round of racing as crews looked to secure places for the finals. The heats of World Rowing Cup I were all conducted as Time Trials, providing an opportunity for crews to gain valuable experience in the procedure.

Men’s pair (M2-) – Heats

France’s Turlan twins, Thibaud and Guillaume, led the first heat through the halfway marker, a few second ahead of Spain. With 500m to go, Spain increased their rate to 40 strokes per minute but France managed to hold off their charge and secure the qualifying place. In the second heat, Croatia’s Sinkovic brothers, Martin and Valent, were absolutely flying. At 1,000m, the Croatian duo had a significant advantage over Belarus. The positions were unchanged at the finish, with Croatia booking their place in the final.

Qualifiers: FRA, CRO

Thibaud Turlan (b), Guillaume Turlan (s), Men’s Pair, France, 2021 World Rowing Cup I, Zagreb, Croatia

Lightweight women’s single sculls (LW1x) – Heats

Switzerland’s second sculler, Eline Rol, made an impressive showing in the first heat, posting a time eight seconds quicker than Katrin Thoma of Germany at 1,500m. Meanwhile, in the final 250m of the race, Tosca Kettler of the Netherlands overtook Ecaterina Fedorenco of Moldova. The final times confirmed Eline Role was the fastest in the first heat to take the single qualifying place. In the second heat, it was the other Swiss sculler – U23 World Champion Sofia Meakin – leading the pack, extending her lead in the second quarter of the race. Lara Tiefenthaler of Austria gave strong opposition and proved that she will be one to watch in the later rounds of racing.

Qualifiers: SUI2, SUI1

Eline Rol, Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls, Switzerland, 2021 World Rowing Cup I, Zagreb, Croatia

Lightweight men’s single sculls (LM1x) – Heats

Twenty-six-year-old Joachim Agne of Germany made a strong impression in the first heat, working his way through the pack and holding off strong opposition from Enes Yenipazarli of Turkey. Meanwhile, in the second heat, it was a bit of a surprise to see reigning European Champion Peter Galambos of Hungary posting the second fastest time to the 1,000m, behind Peter Zelinka of Slovakia. However, Galambos had a very impressive final 500m, enabling him to close the gap and take the one all-important qualifying place.

Qualifiers: GER, HUN

Men’s double sculls (M2x) – Heats

Poland, who were bronze medallists at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, were impressive in the first heat, but Germany1 led them for the first half of the race. By the 1,500m marker, Poland had taken the lead which they held on to the finish with Germany1 in second place and Germany2 in third. In the second heat, the reigning European Champions from France led through the 1,000m marker with the relatively new line-up, Switzerland2 also very impressive, and Hungary taking the third qualifying place. Having been knocked off the podium during an intense sprint at the recent European Rowing Championships, Switzerland’s first boat went through every timing marker in the third heat with the fastest time. There was also a strong showing from the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, with the new line-up from Croatia being the one crew to miss out on semifinal qualification.

Semifinal Qualifiers: POL, GER1, GER2, FRA, SUI2, HUN, SUI1, CZE, NED

Women’s single sculls (W1x) Heats

With a slight-cross headwind on the course, it was all to play for with just one sculler gaining direct qualification to the final. Jovana Arsic of Serbia looked very powerful, and led Lovisa Claesson of Sweden throughout the race. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig made a very impressive showing in the second heat, looking very strong, and taking the only direct qualification place.

Qualifiers: SRB, AUT

Men’s single sculls (M1x) Heats

Damir Martin looked absolutely fabulous in the first heat, but it was a very tight race with several scullers looking to secure the second qualifying place. Piotr Plominski of Poland appeared to go out hard but was then unable to sustain the pace and dropped back. At the front of the race, Saulous Ritter of Lithuania moved into the lead in the final stages. Ondrej Synek of Czech Republic had an impressive return to the single scull leading the second heat throughout with Lithuania’s second sculler, Mindaugas Griskonis taking the second qualifying place. Germany’s Oliver Zeidler demonstrated incredible form, dominating the third heat with an impressive performance also from Turkey’s Onat Kazakli. In the fourth and final heat, Norway’s Kjetil Borch looked very strong posting a very similar time to Oliver Zeidler at the 1,000m marker. Meanwhile, it was Mohamed Taieb of Tunisia who had a solid race and took the second qualifying place.

Semifinal Qualifiers: LTU1, CRO1, CZE, LTU2, GER, TUR, NOR, TUN

Lightweight men’s double sculls (LM2x) Heats

It was the European silver medallists from Germany who led the first heat comfortably to take the single qualification place ahead of France. Turkey has split their lightweight men’s quadruple scull into two double sculls which finished third and fourth. In the second heat, Switzerland1 led at the 1,000m mark with a very dynamic display of sculling. France1 was also impressive, finishing just two second behind Switzerland1.

Qualifiers: GER, SUI1

Jonathan Rommelmann (b), Jason Osborne (s), Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, Germany, 2021 World Rowing Cup I, Zagreb, Croatia

Men’s four (M4-) Test Race

Six boats contested the test race in the men’s four. The positions were shifting throughout the time trial suggesting we should expect a very exciting final.

Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) Heats

Estonia was the fastest out and through the 500m marker, looking the secure the single qualifying place. The only crew at the regatta from the USA maintained the pressure on Estonia throughout the middle of the race, but Estonia held on to first place. In heat two, the German crew appeared to have an issue in the second quarter of the race and therefore appeared to use the heat as a training piece. It was Poland who took the one direct qualifying place leaving Norway and Germany needing to go through the repechage.

Qualifiers: EST, POL

Check out all the photos from today’s heats here.

How to Follow: 2021 World Rowing Cup I in Zagreb

2021 World Cup season begins on Croatia’s Lake Jarun

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