Image Credit: World Rowing
Entries: 8
The 2025 U23 World Rowing Championships will be held in Poznan, Poland, from 23 July to 27th. The women’s quad is almost a complete rematch from the 2024 Worlds, with seven nations returning and only one new nation this year. A chance to rehash rivalries is also a chance for standout athletes to eye LA 2028 selection.
The Romanian quad dominated the U23 level last cycle, with silver in 2022 and two consecutive gold medals in 2023 and 2024. None of that crew is returning, but a very strong group of international medalists takes their place. Delia Mirabela Gradinaciuc and Ana-Maria Matran won the 2022 U19 World and European titles in the quad. Gradinaciuc won bronze in the four at the 2023 U19 World Rowing Championships (with Iuliana Isabela Boldea). At the 2023 U23 European Rowing Championships, Gradinaciuc, Matran, and Georgelica Stoica took the title in the eight (with Matran also winning the coxed four). At the 2024 U23 European Rowing Championships, Gradinaciuc and Matran won the eight title again, while Stoica won the straight four.
In contrast, Poland is returning three of their silver medal crew from last year. Gabriela Stefaniak and Kinga Kusiowska both raced to fifth place at the 2022 U19 World Rowing Championships, while Rozalia Linowska made her international debut in 2024. Barbara Stepien is the new addition – she raced with Kusiowska to seventh in the U19 quad in 2023, won silver at the 2024 U23 European Rowing Championships, and has spent this season in the senior eight, which placed fifth in Lucerne. While Anna Khlibenko ageing out is a hit to this crew, their experience rowing together and the home crowd energy will be a significant advantage.
Great Britain won bronze last year and have two returning athletes, Finn Stratton and stroke Ellie Cooke. Cooke has the most experience in quads, with an eighth place from the 2023 U23 World Rowing Championships and bronze at the 2023 U23 European Rowing Championships. Stratton placed fifth in the single at 2023 U23 European Rowing Championships in their international debut. Poppy Baker placed eighth in the double last year at U23 World Rowing Championships, while Olivia Cheesmur won bronze and silver at the last two U19 World Rowing Championships in the double. Cheesmur and Stratton placed a very impressive third in the double at the April GB Rowing Trials amongst senior internationals, and placed third and fourth overall at the February Trials in singles (with Cooke and Baker in twelfth/thirteenth).
The crew from Germany will likely be inspired by the highly successful senior quad this year. Only bow seat Paula Lutz is returning from last year’s fourth-place crew – she won bronze in the double at the 2022 World U19 Championships in her international debut. Charlotte Luster joins in the stroke seat with a strong international pedigree – silver in the quad at the 2022 U19 World Rowing Championships was followed up with fourth in the double at 2023 U23 World Rowing Championships. Lanea Estelle Rueter and Lena Gresens each have a World U19 bronze medal, Rueter in the 2024 quad and Gresen in the 2021 pair.
Australia’s crew sees Eliza Bridgefoot, Sophie Malcolm, and Sarah Fahd return from last year’s fifth-place crew. Only Bridgefoot had prior international pedigree, placing seventh in the double at the 2023 U19 World Rowing Championships. Olivia Yeates makes her international debut this year. Fahd, Bridgefoot, and Malcolm each won multiple medals in the U23 sculling events at Australian Nationals this year.
Italy also has two crew members returning from the sixth-place crew last year. Aurora Spirito was the 2022 U19 world silver medallist in the single and a two-time European U19 champion in that event. Irene Gattiglia placed sixth at the 2023 U23 World Rowing Championships in the quad – these two athletes raced in the ITA2 and ITA1 quads respectively at the 2025 Varese World Rowing Cup, placing fifth and sixth. They are joined by Noemi de Vincenzi, a decorated quad sculler with two European U19 titles, a World U19 title, and a World U19 silver medal. Gaia Chiavini makes her debut for the Italian team; however, she has raced to a U19 World Rowing Championships silver and U23 World Rowing Championships fifth place in the double for France, along with strong top-ten finishes at the Coastal World Rowing Championships for Monaco.
Czechia won the B-final at last year’s U23 World Rowing Championships in St. Catharines, but have a completely different crew this year. Anna Drnkova is the most experienced at the U23 level, racing to ninth place in the lightweight single at both the 2023 World Rowing Championships and European Rowing Championships. In 2024, she made the A-final at the U23 European Rowing Championships. Katerina Dohnalova and Veronika Vachkova have made the A-final in every appearance at the U19 Worlds/Europeans, mainly in big boats, but Vachkova’s 2024 European bronze in the single is a highlight. Anna Pavlaskova makes her international debut.
The young Swiss crew rounds out the entries. Seraina Stirnimann and Flurina Parrillo raced the quad together at the 2023 and 2024 U19 World Rowing Championships, placing sixth and eighth. Lotta Plock joined them in 2024, and placed sixth at the 2023 U19 European Rowing Championships with Parrillo and Zoe Heer. Zoe Heer spent 2024 sweeping and placed ninth at the 2024 U19 World Rowing Championships. This development crew will likely finish at the back of the field, but has great potential for the future.
Prediction
Poland’s experience together to elevate them to gold in front of the home crowd, with Great Britain taking silver in a great battle with Romania.
