Image Credit: World Rowing
Entries: 14
With only two World Rowing Cup regattas on the schedule this year, we have a bumper entry for the first round. The picturesque Lago di Varese, less than ten kilometres from the Swiss border, will host our first global regatta of the Los Angeles Olympiad. With a mixture of returners from Paris and brand new names, this weekend, we will begin sketching the picture that will emerge over the next four years.
From the European Rowing Championships a couple of weeks ago, none of the medal-winning crews will race this weekend in the coxless four. So, the crew with the fastest form will be those from the Netherlands, bringing three of the four who finished fourth overall in Plovdiv. That crew, missing only Finn Florijn, who returns to sculling this weekend, still contains three of their Olympic silver-medallist eight from Paris. Alongside them is a second Dutch entry containing two more Paris Olympians, this time from the seventh-place four. This crew, which raced in other boats at the European Rowing Championships, will enter the ranks in the four and could also be at the business end of finals day.
Another A-finalist from Plovdiv who return only part of their crew is Italy, who retain the core of Alessandro Gardino and Giovanni Abagnale in the stern while adding triple-Olympian Giuseppe Vicino and up-and-comer Luca Vicino as the bow pair. The Vicinos are a strong rowing family in Italy, with Giuseppe being the eldest and a double-bronze medallist in Rio and Tokyo, while Luco and twin brother Marco won silver in the pair at the U23 championships in Canada, before enrolling together at Harvard, while middle brother Antonio is a lightweight world champion. With the addition of two Vicinos, the crew will look to break into the medals this weekend. Alongside them is a second Italian crew getting to race on home water. This crew comprises a much younger group, with two senior debutants and two members of last year’s ITA2 eight.
From Great Britain, this new-look crew underwhelmed at the European Rowing Championships, finishing eighth overall. The boat is made up of Caversham stalwarts Daniel Graham and James Vogel, plus former U23 world champions Joshua Bowesman-Jones and Jake Wincomb (a three-time champion). The expectation was for a strong performance out of this group. However, these things are often not as easy as they seem, and the first international outing was not as smooth as desired. Given a quick opportunity to turn this around in a few days time, the crew will aim for at least the A-final as they seek to grow into this new Olympiad.
Czechia and Germany round out the European entries. For the former, their tenth place in Plovdiv was around what was expected, given that Tomas Sinsa was the only returner from their last campaign, with Jan Chladek returning after two seasons away from the scene (despite still being only 25). This weekend, the cross-continental roster will only enhance the competition and raise the challenge for this young squad. On the other hand, Germany’s 11th-place finish with two returners from the Paris eight is a massive underperformance for the crew. With some signs of growth in other boats, they will want to step forward this season to avoid getting left behind.
From around the world, there are several strong entries in this event, not least the Australians, who seem to be targeting this as their priority boat: possibly chasing a new generation of the oarsome foursome to re-launch after a tough Olympic Games. Their top crew remains stroked by Alexander Hill, who has been in that seat since Rio, winning a silver and gold in that time. Fergus Hamilton retains his spot in the three-sea. Behind them are two new faces in Nikolas Pender and Fraser Miscamble, making their first and second senior international appearances, respectively. The second crew, made up mainly of Australia A talents, will support this team, with plenty of expectations on these green and gold shoulders.
The New Zealand team is making a similar trip to Europe. As the reigning silver medallists in Paris, the Kiwis arrive with momentum but are bringing an entirely new crew. Zackary Rumble and Flynn Eliadis-Watson raced in the quad at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, while Campbell Crouch raced twice in a NZL2 pair last season. For Joshua Vodanovich, this is a debut at a World Rowing event, but all four competed together in the Windermere Cup, finishing within a second of the now-champion Washington Husky squad on their home water. A strong crew making a charge, they will hope to be as good as their European competitors.
Making the trip east from the United States is a crew dripping with Ivy League background. With half of the league represented in this crew’s undergraduate education, a wide range of backgrounds are on board. This is Nathan Phelps and Jacob Hudgins’ senior international debut. Alexander Hedge was the Olympic spare in Paris, while Christian Tabash sat in the three-seat of the bronze medal-winning eight. Having been training together for only around a month, this crew may have some work to do to come together, but when the selection pool is as deep as the United States, they are likely to produce a rapid crew still.
Journeying west from Asia, we have three crews in the entry this year, brimming with new names. Only one athlete has raced in Europe before between China and Japan, with Japan’s Hideo Toyama’s experience being at two U19 World Rowing Championships and one U23 race. From Hong Kong’s crew, there is a little more experience, as both Tik Lun Chan and Chi Fung Chan are former lightweights who raced in Lucerne at last year’s Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Expectations will be rather tempered with a limited form guide for these crews, but if they can mix it up with their more established rivals, they will begin the Olympiad in excellent spirits.
Prediction
With the top European crews not racing in the boat class, the door is wide open for the rest of the world. I would pick the Australians to win their first gold of the Olympiad this weekend, with the Italians and Germans behind.
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