2025 European Rowing Championships – Women’s Coxless Four Preview

Image Credit: World Rowing

Entries: 7

2024 Winner: Great Britain

The upcoming European Rowing Championships running May 29-June 1 will mark the first senior World Rowing event since the Paris Olympic Games nine months ago, with seven nations competing in the women’s coxless four. With numerous athletes choosing to retire after Paris and many stepping up to the senior level, the European Rowing Championships should provide an exciting preview of the racing in store for the rest of the quadrennial.

The Netherlands brings a formidable combination of Olympic champions Tinka Offereins and Ymke Clevering, who will join new teammates to form an exciting combination. These athletes will also race in the women’s eight.

Great Britain features three Olympic bronze medallists from their Paris women’s eight: Eve Stewart, Heidi Long, and Lauren Irwin, who team up with 2021 U23 World Champion in the four, Daisy Bellamy. Heidi Long is returning to the British Rowing programme after studying for her Masters in Women’s and Reproductive Health and racing in the Blue Boat at the 2025 Boat Race.

Romania brings impressive credentials with Adriana Adam and Maria Lehaci, who won Olympic gold in the eight and placed fourth in the four in Paris, alongside U23 World and European champion Iulia-Liliana Balauca.

Italy presents a mixed crew including Olympians Clara Guerra, Silvia Terrazi, and Giorgia Pelacchi, while France combines talent from various boat classes, including Josephine Cornut and Emma Cornelis who won The Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 2024, after not qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games at the Final Olympic Paralympic Qualification Regatta. The Czech Republic and Spain round out the field of competitors.

Prediction

I predict the Netherlands to claim gold, with Great Britain taking silver, and Romania securing bronze.