Image Credit: World Rowing
With 29 entries vying for the title of fastest individual U23 male sculler on the planet, the stage is set for an epic contest. Previous winners of this category have gone on to represent their country at senior level and vye for global titles. Let’s dive in and see who might be contending for top honours.
Aaron Andries – Belgium
Aaron Andries arrives into Poznan as one of the stand-out favourites for gold. He won bronze in this event 12 months ago and was an U23 world champion in the double back in 2022. He’s flirted with the Belgium senior team throughout the past three years, racing in the double at the 2025 European Rowing Championships where he placed seventh overall. He also tried to qualify the double at the 2024 World Rowing Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta, finishing fourth in the A/B semifinals.
August Wisholm – Denmark
Hailing from Denmark, August Wisholm has a good track record on the international circuit. He last raced at this event in 2023, finishing first in the D-final in the single, and was previously a B-finalist in the same boat class at the U19 World Rowing Championships. He’ll need to have found quite a lot of speed in the last two years to contend with the fastest scullers in the field.
Oliver Holtz – Germany
Germany has a rich tradition of competing admirably at this level and are the current holders of this title. With Timo Strache not returning in 2025, Oliver Holtz steps into his shoes and looks like a good bet to bring gold back to Deutschland. He was fourth in the quad at the 2024 U23 World Rowing Championships and won silver in the same boat class at the 2022 edition of this event. He raced in the German men’s senior quad in May at the European Rowing Championships, finishing fifth overall.
Nikolaos Cholopoulos – Greece
An athlete who is unaccustomed to not collecting silverware on the international stage, Nikolaos Cholopoulos tends to fare well whenever he races overseas. He won gold in the double at the U19 World Rowing Championships last summer to go alongside the European title he won shortly after. He also nearly qualified for the Paris Olympic Games, finishing fifth in the double at the 2024 World Rowing Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta.
Marco Selva – Italy
A bronze medallist in the quad from last summer’s U23 World Rowing Championships, Marco Selva switches into the single for his Polish campaign. Italy are another nation with pedigree in producing very fast U23 athletes and Selva has already been blooded on the senior stage, having raced the single at the first World Rowing Cup of the 2025 season in Varese (where he finished second in the C-final). He was a U19 European champion in 2023 in the single and won bronze in the double at the 2022 World Rowing Under 19 Championships.
Oscar Ruston – New Zealand
Having finished fourth in 2024 in this boat class, Oscar Ruston returns in 2025 with the podium on his mind. He won gold in the men’s U22 single at the New Zealand Rowing Championships. According to Rowing Hub, the ‘big focus has been trying to stay loose and keep learning from what the boat’s doing.’ With Ruston clearly gearing up for a tilt at the title, he is one to watch.
Diogo Goncalves – Portugal
Another A-finalist from last year’s U23 World Rowing Championships men’s single scull field, Diogo Goncalves will also be aiming to emerge atop the rankings. He was fifth in Canada and has been busy preparing for this summer’s spectacle by racing as part of a Portuguese senior quad that finished second in the B-final at the 2025 Varese World Rowing Cup.
Ionut Pavel – Romania
With their exploits on the senior stage now the stuff of legend, any athlete from Romania should not be taken lightly. Ionut Pavel has largely made a name racing with one oar; he was U23 European champion in both the coxed four and eight last year and wound up sixth in the coxless four at the 2024 U23 World Rowing Championships. Depending on how he adapts to the switch to the single, he could be a serious contender.
Braden Howard – South Africa
They don’t boat crews often, but when they do, South Africa tends to be quick. Braden Howard was third in the B-final of the double at the 2024 U23 World Rowing Championships, but won bronze in the pair at the 2023 World Rowing U19 Championships and placed fourth in the coxed four at the 2022 equivalent.
Leonardo Salerno – Switzerland
Having finished third in the B-final of the single at the 2024 U23 World Rowing Championships, Leonardo Salerno will want to break into the A-final for 2025. He’s never managed to get beyond the B-final in two attempts at this level, but 2025 could be a good opportunity for him to push on.
Erik Kallstrom – Sweden
Sweden aren’t a nation traditionally associated with impressive rowing quality, but Erik Kallstrom is bucking that trend. The young Swede was second in this event last year, so he arrives in Poland as the leading contender, at least on paper. He’s also raced a double at both the 2025 senior World Rowing Cups, placing first in the C-final in Varese and fourth in the C-final in Lucerne.
Peter Strecansky – Slovakia
Following the trend of lightweights switching into the openweight field following the removal of lightweight events for the Olympic roster, Peter Strecansky is certainly a name to watch. He was fourth in the U32 lightweight scull last summer in Canada and raced both World Rowing Cups in the lightweight single, placing fourth overall.
Cevdet Ege Mutlu – Turkey
With substantial international experience stretching back to 2022, Turkey’s Cevdet Ege Mutlu is another candidate for a strong performance this weekend. He placed seventh overall at the 2025 European Rowing Championships in the single and won his semifinal at the 2024 U23 European Rowing Championships before withdrawing. He tried to qualify the single for the 2024 Olympic Games, placing second in the C-final at the 2024 World Rowing Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta.
Prediction
Hard to look past the scullers from Sweden, Belgium, New Zealand and Portugal. I’d also expect Marco Selva of Italy, Oliver Holtz of Germany and Nikolaos Cholopoulos of Greece to be competitive.
