Image Credit: World Rowing
2024 Champion: Paul O’Donovan (Ireland)
Entries: 16
The removal of lightweight events from the Olympic programme is hitting the entries for this event hard. The 16 entries are less than half of the number that entered in 2019, and the quality of those who have entered is also lower than in previous years. Only one athlete racing in Shanghai made the A-final in a lightweight event in 2023. But, putting a positive spin on things, it allows some smaller rowing nations to get to the major finals and possibly even medal.
The standout sculler in the event is Fabio Kress of Germany. He is the one athlete who raced in an A-final in 2023, winning a silver medal in the lightweight men’s quad. He was also part of the German lightweight men’s quad that won bronze in 2024. He’s moved into the single this season and won gold at the European Championships.
The youngest competitor in the field is also one of the favourites for a medal. 20-year-old Halil Kaan Koroglu of Turkey won gold in the lightweight men’s single at the U23 World Rowing Championships this year and followed that up with a win at the European U23s at the beginning of September. At the start of this season, he raced at the senior European Rowing Championships, finishing in silver behind Kress.
Another strong medal contender is Felipe Kluver Ferreira of Uruguay. He was in the lightweight men’s double that made the A-final at the Tokyo Olympic Games (Uruguay’s best Olympic result since 1952) and in 2022 won gold in the lightweight men’s single at the U23 World Rowing Championships. Last season, he won the B-final at the World Rowing Championships, and this season, he’s one of only three scullers to have raced the light single at both World Rowing Cups, and he won on both occasions. Uruguay has never won a World Rowing Championship medal, but Ferreira will be an odds-on favourite to make the podium and might even take the title.
Runner-up to the Uruguayan at both World Rowing Cups this season was Hin Chun Chiu of Hong Kong. Chiu won Hong Kong’s first-ever able-bodied rowing gold last season, winning the lightweight men’s single at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup. He raced in the open-weight single at the Paris Olympic Games, placing third in the C-final and then raced as a lightweight at the World Rowing Championships, finishing 12th. His two silver medals so far this season definitely put him among the contenders for a podium in Shanghai.
Another athlete with Olympic experience is Alexis Lopez Garcia of Mexico. He was in the lightweight men’s double that finished tenth in Paris, and in the previous year, he and partner Miguel Carballo Nieto, won the lightweight men’s double B-final at the World Rowing Championships. As a single sculler, he raced at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, placing eighth and made the A-final in 2024.
Ireland are the reigning champions in this event, courtesy of the legendary Paul O’Donovan. But in his absence, the defence of the title sits with Jake McCarthy (twin brother of Olympic champion Fintan). He raced in this boat class at the 2023 World Rowing Championships but finished 23rd. He had a much more impressive season in 2024, placing sixth at the European Rowing Championships. In 2025, he also raced at the Europeans and just missed out on a medal.
Shakhzod Nurmatov represents Uzbekistan. He raced in the lightweight men’s double at the Paris Olympic Games, finishing 15th (out of the 16 entries). He’s had a strong 2025 in the lightweight men’s single, placing fifth at the Varese World Rowing Cup and then winning Uzbekistan’s first able-bodied medal after taking bronze in Lucerne.
Austria’s Julian Schoeberl was fifth in the lightweight men’s single at the 2024 World Rowing Championships. He had spent the last few seasons racing in the lightweight men’s double, winning World Rowing Cup bronze back in 2021 and delivering a best performance of 14th at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. This season, he has experimented with racing as an open-weight, placing 13th in the men’s pair at the European Rowing Championships and 20th in Varese.
Iraq’s Mohammed Al-Khafaji raced in the open-weight single at the Tokyo Olympic Games, placing a very respectable 20th. He moved back to lightweight for the 2022 and 2023 World Rowing Championships, finishing 15th in 2022 and tenth in 2023. He didn’t compete in 2024, and so far this season, he has made one appearance, a win in the B-final at the Varese World Rowing Cup.
Finland haven’t won a men’s world championship medal since the legendary Perti Karppinen in 1986, but with their representative this year, Kasper Hirvilampi, they have an outside chance of breaking that run. At 31 years and 10 months, he’s the oldest competitor in the field and made his international debut in 2017. He raced in the lightweight men’s single at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 World Rowing Championships with a best finish of 18th last year. So far this season, he has had his best-ever finish of sixth at the European Rowing Championships, and in Lucerne, he placed eighth.
The only other entry with senior international experience is Ghaith Kadri of Tunisia. He’s raced at the last three World Rowing Championships, placing 23rd in 2022 and 25th in 2023. His best result came last season, when he made the C-final and placed 17th overall.
The remaining five countries all have athletes making their senior international debuts. Justin Schmidt represents the USA. The Dartmouth student won the US trials and was part of the US U23 team in 2022, finishing fourth in the U23 lightweight men’s quad. Home favourite is Jiantao Gu, making his international debut. Jonghee Lee of Korea and Bin Ahmad Fakhrul-Din Ahmad Faiz Zuhairee of Malaysia are also making their international debuts. The final entrant is former junior international Artem Matussevich of Kazakhstan.
Prediction
Kress of Germany to take the gold, with Ferreria of Uruguay in silver and the young Turk, Koroglu, in bronze,
