Image Credit: World Rowing
2023 Champions: Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson, Georgina Brayshaw (Great Britain)
Entries: 12
13 months ago, the eyes of the world were on Paris. The race of the regatta came in this boat class, as it took a photo finish to separate gold from silver. One year on, the world turns east as Shanghai hosts China’s first-ever World Rowing Championships. As ever in a post-Olympic year, this field presents a range of new faces, returning heroes and those out for revenge as we look towards the narratives of the Los Angeles Olympiad.
Great Britain
As European, world and Olympic Champions, Great Britain will enter as the favourites for gold in Shanghai, but they rarely make it look easy. In the previous version of this crew, they claimed Olympic and World Rowing Championship gold medals by an average of 0.4 seconds, creating drama across the lakes of Europe. This year, they return with a new crew, including two returning members of the Paris quad, Rebecca Wilde, who won bronze in the double, plus Sarah McKay, a rising star in the British Team. Making her first GB team this season, McKay announced herself onto the scene by winning the national trials in February, just six months after taking a sabbatical from her nursing job to pursue rowing full-time. So far this season, the crew defended the European title but has not raced since. But with Hannah Scott returning to the boat, they will be hoping they have been able to take a step forward over the last three months to claim victory again next week.
Netherlands
The Netherlands, silver medallists to Great Britain in both of their narrow victories, will want to get their revenge to start the Olympic cycle. At the European Rowing Championships, they unveiled an all-crew with only Olympic spare Willemijn Mulder returning from the Paris squad. After a bronze medal in Plovdiv, they reintroduced Tessa Dullemans to the stroke seat, as she had been last summer. In this new lineup, they have gone unbeaten, picking up victory at the Varese World Rowing Cup regatta and against high-level domestic opposition at Henley Royal Regatta and the Holland Beker. Lining up against the strongest field of the year, they will be wanting to continue their winning habit, but with two months away from the racing scene, it is difficult to tell how they will have progressed compared to their major opposition, especially as they look to get ahead of the British at a major global championship regatta.
Germany
The bronze medallists in this category from Paris, Germany, have continued to feature at the sharp end of proceedings this season. Like the Dutch, they return their stroke seat from their Olympic-medal-winning crew from Paris, with new faces sitting behind Pia Greiten, including the German double who were one position away from qualifying at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. The crew has been very active this season, finishing second at the European Rowing Championships and the Varese World Rowing Cup, before winning gold in Lucerne, as well as winning the inaugural women’s quad event at the SH Netz Cup over the famous 12.7-kilometre course against development crews from Britain and the Netherlands. Facing back up against their top squads, the Germans expect to win yet another medal in Shanghai, potentially mixing it up to fight for gold.
Romania
Romania entered the crew with the most returning Olympians in this field, with three members of their B-final winning crew from the Paris Games lining up again this year. Joining them is Andrada-Maria Morosanu, who was one of the Romanian’s inflated group of spares from Paris. As is often the case with Romanian crews, the lineup has changed throughout the year, but the best showing in the quad came at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup, where they finished in second place. Emanuela-Ioana Ciotau and Alexandra Ungureanu remain from that crew, joined by the eighth-placed double from Lucerne. Despite the changes, this crew has had an extended preparation period, as they eye a medal position in Shanghai, which would represent a big step forward from their results in previous Championships, and their first medal in this boat class at this level since the 1992 Olympic Games.
Poland
The Polish entry in this event brings a crew of athletes with both youth and experience. With 26-year-old Zuzanna Lesner being the oldest in the crew, they continue to build their experience with three athletes racing at last season’s Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. The only new face, Julia Rogiewicz, made her senior debut this year, having raced twice with this crew throughout the season, improving from eighth overall at the European Rowing Championship to win bronze at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup regatta. Since that race, Rogiewicz has continued to show her talent, combining with crewmate Anna Khlibenko to win a silver medal at the U23 World Rowing Championships in the double. Back in the quad, they will look to continue their substantial improvement throughout the year, but with a full-strength start list and everyone at their seasonal peak, it will be a shock if they can reach the podium on Thursday.
Czechia
One of the revelations of the season this year has been the Czech women’s quad. Last year, they raced just at the European championship, finishing eleventh before shelving the boat class for the year. They return three of that crew this year, but have had a great run, turning a corner. Ninth at the European Rowing Championship was a rather underwhelming season opener. However, by finishing third two weeks later at the Varese World Rowing Cup regatta, they earned their first medal in a women’s quad in their nation’s history, having most recently finished third at the 1990 World Rowing Championship, then competing as Czechoslovakia. Following this up with a fourth-place finish in Lucerne, this is one of the best Czech quads in a generation, and they will hope to reinforce this against the best in the world in Shanghai.
Ukraine
While Ukraine has not raced since the European Rowing Championships, they bring a robust crew. With Kateryna Dudchenko, Daryna Verkhogliad and Yevheniia Dovhodko continuing in the crew, the latter two having been in the setup since the Rio Games and are joined by another stalwart of the national squad, Diana Serebrianska. In their lone outing against international competition this year, they placed fourth in a strong field in Plovdiv, suggesting they have the potential to fight up at the front of this field, but with three months since their last showing, it remains to be seen how well they will perform on the biggest stage next week.
United States
However, the team with the least international racing this season is the United States. Having not raced internationally in a women’s quad since finishing ninth of nine at the Paris Olympic Games. This year, the selectors have sent an all-new crew, with Paris spare Alina Hagstrom being joined by three first-time members of a senior World Rowing championship team. Of the crew, only Katheryn Flynn has raced internationally this season, reaching the A-final in the double at both the Varese and Lucerne World Rowing Cup regattas. After a round of selection and training back in Chula Vista, California, this crew of four has come together from three different training centres to form one national team crew. With new faces and no racing in the boat class, it remains hard to evaluate this boat’s potential, but they hope to improve their result from Paris in this strong field.
New Zealand
Similarly, New Zealand has also not raced in the quad this season, as this will be their first international outing in an eight-oared boat since last year’s Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Only Kathryn Glen returns from that crew, having raced in the ‘NZL1’ double throughout the season. In that crew, she won bronze at the Varese World Rowing Cup with Stella Clayton-Greene, one of her crewmates in the quad next week. Joining them is Ella Cossill, who competed as ‘NZL2’ double in Varese and Lucerne, while Veronica Wall will make her international debut in the stroke seat of this crew. Moving from doubles into the quad, the crew has had an intense training block back on Lake Karapiro, building their speed through the southern hemisphere winter and will be hoping to make a big step in their first international race in the boat class for more than a year.
Switzerland
The fourth-placed crew from the Paris Games, Switzerland, has slowly evolved into its new crew for this season. From their Shanghai lineup, only Olivia Nacht and Nina Wettstein started the season in the quad, as they won the B-final at the European Rowing Championships. Missing the larger boat class in Varese, they returned to the quad at their home World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, where Oliva Roth joined the crew, finishing fifth in the event. The extended break between the World Rowing Cups and the World Rowing Championship has allowed Sofia Meakin to return to the squad. The Paris spare is the final element of this crew, having finished her studies in Lausanne and returning to the team. Coach Nicholas Lloyd hopes she can propel the crew to a strong result this season.
China
Throughout the World Rowing Cup season, China has been racing two crews as both ‘CHN1’ and ‘CHN2’ raced in both Varese and Lucerne. A disappointing campaign for both crews, finishing last and second-last in both events with ‘CHN2’ overcoming their designation to post the faster time in both regattas by an average of seven seconds. Back on their home water, the selectors hope for a better result with only Guoting Zhang and Wanning Ren returning from the ‘CHN2’ crew. Filling the remaining spots are Siyuan Yu, a sweep athlete with experience both at the 2023 World Rowing Championships and the 2022 Asian Games, plus Xingyue Zhao, making her international debut. With this new lineup, they will hope for a better result in Shanghai in the boat class they dominated just a few years ago.
Canada
Rounding out the field is Canada, which has a busy squad across the board, as the four and quad will be doubling up into an eight. As such, they have a crew that is very adept in both sweep rowing and sculling. Caroline De Paiva and Cassidy Deane demonstrated this by competing through the World Rowing Cup season in a coxless four, while Kristen Siermachesky won at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in the Championship Pair. In the stroke seat is Alize Brien, who does not have international experience in a sweep boat, but is an accomplished sculler. The former pro cyclist won two bronze medals at the Pan-American Games in 2023 on her international debut and the Championship single at Royal Canadian Henley Regatta this summer. This balance between sweep and sculling may make both types of rowing more compromised, but the selection of such top scullers suggests this crew will perform close to their potential.
Prediction
Despite the upheaval of retirements that a post-Olympic year brings, I think we will have the same medallists as 13 months ago: Great Britain will take gold, with the Netherlands in second and Germany in third.
