Image Credit: World Rowing
2023 Champions: Oliver Wilkes, David Ambler, Matthew Aldridge, Freddie Davidson (Great Britain)
Entries: 19
After a shortened European season and an extended break, the rowing world has been starved of elite international rowing for months. After this long wait, the World Rowing Championships will fill that gap, as China hosts the event for the first time. The coxless four in particular has been the focus of several key narratives, as many major nations and athletes have set their sights on the storied boat to start the new Olympic cycle.
Australia
One nation with a strong history in this boat class is Australia, which has focused on this crew, as they aim to return to the heights of the ‘Oarsome Foursome’. This season, they assembled a strong crew: stalwart Alexander Hill will race in the boat for his fourth Olympiad, while Fergus Hamilton similarly remains from the Paris lineup. Alongside them, Nikolas Pender and Austin Reinehr made their senior debuts this season. This lineup, unchanged all year, struck gold as they have been unbeaten on their swing through Europe: claiming gold at both the Varese and Lucerne World Rowing Cup Regattas before moving into the eight to win The Grand Challenge Cup. This level of success is a positive sign for the Australian setup, as a strong result from this crew would be the cherry on top of an excellent rebuild under returning lead coach Chris O’Brien, who led the last crew to use the ‘Oarsome Foursome’ moniker.
Croatia
Two of the biggest names in the sport are the three-time Olympic champions from Croatia: brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic. After conquering the double and the pair (twice) at the highest level, they announced in the autumn that their new focus would be on the coxless four to begin the new cycle. Joining this in their endeavour is another set of brothers: Patrik and Anton Loncaric, the 12th-placed double at the Paris Olympic Games. They opened this new campaign at the European Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, winning a silver medal before splitting into pairs for the Varese World Rowing Cup. Lucerne saw a return to the four, finishing only fifth, but they earned their first major campaign victory in The Stewards’ Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Two months later, they will make the long trip to China with hopes of continuing this winning habit, as the long-term viability of the boat class continues to be evaluated by the Croatian selectors.
Romania
The one remaining nation with a major international victory in the four this year is Romania, as they entered the first part of the season with their fifth-place Olympic crew fully intact. That lineup won gold at the European Rowing Championship, before losing out to the Australians in Lucerne by just 0.7 seconds. There has been a reshuffling of the lineup in the gap between these events, as Berariu and Bejan move into the men’s eight. Remaining in the crew, Andrei Mandrila and Ciprian Tudosa are joined by Andrei Vatamaniuc and Eduard Angel Moldovan, two talents with their eyes set on Los Angeles, who won bronze in the boat class at last month’s World Rowing U23 Championships. This change will likely weaken the boat, but lead coach Dorin Alupei will be hopeful that they will remain competitive in a category loaded with proven talents.
Great Britain
Great Britain, the twice-defending champions and Olympic bronze medallists, have not had a brilliant season this year in this boat class. Fourth place in Varese was the highlight of a tough season, as they missed the A-final at the European Rowing Championships and Lucerne World Rowing Cup. Over the break, there has been a significant shift in personnel, with only Dan Graham remaining from the initial selection. Joining him are a very talented group with three-quarters of the Cambridge University stern four stepping into the crew, with the experienced heads of James Robson and George Bourne, both spares from the Paris campaign, plus the rising starlet of stroke man Douwe de Graaf, who will race in his first senior World Rowing Championship, having won four gold medals in the age-group ranks. This injection of light-blue speed will move the crew up the pecking order, but it remains to be seen if they end up in the medal conversation in the Friday final.
Netherlands
In terms of experience in the boat, no crew can top that of the Netherlands, as their three Paris medallists are joined by Guillaume Krommenhoek, who raced in Tokyo. At this point in the cycle, the Dutch squad is in a period of deep experimentation, as Head Coach Arnoud Hummel and Director of Elite Rowing Marieke Faber seek to maximise the extensive talent in their new squad. To that end, this crew brings together athletes from four different crews earlier in the season. Melvin Twellaar has been racing in the single, winning at Henley Royal Regatta; Leonard van Lierop raced in a pair at Varese, while Gert-Jan van Doorn was in the double, and Krommenhoek missed the regatta entirely, having been in an eight for the European Rowing Championships. However, these unstable lineups have not performed terribly well globally. With the gap in the racing schedule, a more extensive training period may benefit the men in orange as they eye the top spot on the podium next week.
United States
After winning their first major championship gold in this boat class since 1960, the United States has brought an all-new crew, with none of the winning four returning to international racing season. In their place is still an experienced group, as Christian Tabash and Pieter Quinton move across from the bronze medal-winning eight. Joining them are Alexander Hedge and Gus Rodriguez, who have both made national teams at this level in the past. So far this season, the US selectors have prioritised gaining racing experience for their athletes, with doubling up being very common. Combining this with the unstable nature of the lineups, this may suggest the fifth and sixth place results were underperformances; however, as this crew will also make up the men’s eight, and the field is expected to be much stronger, such a result would be a good outing for the men in red, white and blue.
New Zealand
The silver medallists from Tokyo, New Zealand, have similarly returned to the international scene with a new crew, as Logan Ullrich, the only member of the Paris four racing in Shanghai, is focusing on the single. In their place, Mike Rodger has led a new crew of rising stars through this season. They finished sixth and seventh at the Varese and Lucerne World Rowing Cup Regattas, respectively. However, during their return to New Zealand, Josh Vodanovich was forced to withdraw through injury, precipitating the return of Matthew Dunham, a former lightweight-turned beach sprinter, who will race his first classic rowing international event since missing Paris qualification by 0.17 seconds at the 2023 World Rowing Championship. While a change of faces in the crew is never ideal, this late insertion of experience may help the team as Dunham suits up for his sixth World Rowing Championship appearance.
Lithuania
A growing force among the smaller rowing nations, Lithuania has put together a very good four so far this season. Made up of the three Stankunas brothers and Mantas Juskevicius, this combination first raced in the 2021 season in a failed attempt to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games. However, they reached new heights after winning bronze at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup regatta. However, with such a small rowing nation, prioritisation can change, and Head Coach Mykolas Masilionis opted to change the lineup, moving Damantas Stankunas back into the pair he raced in Paris, albeit with a new partner. In his place comes Arnedas Kelmelis, a young athlete with strong results in doubles and quads at the U23 level. If he can step up to sweep rowing at the top level, this four could be in with a chance of a spot in the A-final.
France
Off the back of a disappointing home Olympic Games where none of the three men’s crews reached a medal final, the French squad is looking to bring in new talent, leading to a concentration of their experience in this crew. Across the remaining seven members of their able-bodied men’s squad, there are only two previous appearances at a senior World Rowing Championship. Within this quartet alone: 17 World Rowing Championships and five Olympic Games. This concentration of experience has produced good results: a bronze at the European Rowing Championships was followed by fourth place in Lucerne, and with the latter being the first international sweep race since Tokyo Olympic champion Hugo Boucheron was a junior, the extended time in the crew should allow the group to improve further, setting them on an intense course to lead the French squad for the next three years.
Germany
After an Olympiad in decline, there is a growing sense that the German men’s sweep team is back. While the focus will likely always be on the ‘Duetchland achter’, the collective squad, typically based in Dortmund, will continue to build and improve the four. Their early-season form was disappointing as injury and illness dogged a campaign highlighted by winning the B-final at the Varese World Rowing Cup Regatta. Ultimately, as the secondary boat in the fleet, such disruptions can badly affect the performance. However, reports from their training camps in Ratzburg suggest a far simpler set of preparations for the World Rowing Championships, with the only injury in the camp coming to eights coach Mark Emke. With all eyes on Shanghai, there will be expectations to step on from their disrupted opening to the season, and with two of last summer’s Olympic eight on board, they will have the experience to rise to the occasion.
Spain
This Spanish crew comes with an interesting story: U19 world champions in 2021, the crew went their separate ways but reunited this summer for their final year of U23 eligibility. The most notable of the journeys was Eric Pastor, who returned from three years away from the sport to stroke the crew. Ultimately, the campaign succeeded, winning silver at the U23 World Rowing Championships. Next week, they will extend their season as three of that crew return, with the addition of Pau Sanchez Batlle. The rower from Amposta steps in for Pablo Moreno, who has returned to the University of California for his final year. With such a young crew, expectations will not be too high as they face up against some of the biggest names in the sport. However, a strong result in this field will be a brilliant sign for the future of classic rowing in Spain.
Italy
Since they last raced at their home World Rowing Cup in Varese, many Italian lineups have changed significantly, with much work done in pairs. This crew, assembled during the two-month break from racing, brings together Davide Comini and Giovanni Codato, the 12th-ranked pair from the Paris Olympic Games, alongside Alfonso Scalzone, a spare and Nunzio Di Colandrea, who will race at his first senior World Rowing Championships since 2022. This group, who were all in the eight that won bronze last time out in Varese, will hope they have been able to bring their speed together for the World Rowing Championships, to begin the Olympiad with strong results.
Canada
With a developing men’s squad, the Canadian federation took a rather unusual approach towards international racing this year, as they missed both World Rowing Cup regattas. Instead, the European leg of the season focused on domestically run events, with these four racing at the Holland Beker and Henley Royal Regatta. In the former, a ten-second victory against a field made up entirely of Dutch club and university crews had limited value for prediction, but at Henley Royal Regatta, they impressed, staying within a length and a half of the top-class Croatian crew in dreadful conditions in the final of The Stewards’ Challenge Cup. While interesting in their own right, these results have some limitations when viewing their potential this weekend, particularly as both were one-off races. In Shanghai, they will have to progress through rounds to succeed, a task made more difficult by doubling up to eight. Despite these caveats, the season has been good for this crew, as they seek to rebuild the struggling programme.
Others
With a rare opportunity for the championships to come to Asia, the continent is strongly represented in this entry. Uzbekistan returned its crew from the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta last summer, where they missed a spot in the semifinals. This year, the Central Asian nation raced again at Lucerne, finishing ninth in the 15-boat field.
Home national, China, by contrast, has raced this season with a group of debutants, who made their first appearances at any level on the world stage this year, finishing tenth in Varese, and posting a DNS for their C-final in Lucerne. Hong Kong was at both events alongside them, finishing 13th at both. Back in their own time zone, they make one change to the crew, as San Tung Lam joins an otherwise stable crew, having raced with two different pairs partners in Varese and Lucerne.
Rounding out the field are three European squads. Ukraine will race for the first time since the season-opening continental championships, as a reshuffle brings the 11th-placed pair into the four who reached the A-final in Plovdiv. Another nation facing a change is Denmark, which united its single and pair into a fours alongside Magnus Rathenborg after underwhelming results in Lucerne.
The final crew is from Czechia, which has remained consistent in its selection. Jan Gruber leads the same crew that has raced in the B-final at all three major international regattas this year.
Prediction
With so many nations appearing to target this event, many crews will be eyeing up medals in Shanghai. My pick for the top of the pile is Australia to continue their perfect record this year, with Romania and the Netherlands in second and third. However, with so many great crews on the entry list, at least one crew with medal ambitions will probably miss the A-final.
