Image Credit: World Rowing
Entries: 6
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.
After winning every event they entered during last year’s cycle, the Great Britain eight received a complete refresh at the European Rowing Championships two weekends ago. In Plovdiv, their phenomenal late sprint earned them gold over their Dutch opponents as the all-new crew continues the streak of defending world and Olympic champions. This crew represented plenty of fresh blood for the dominant squad, containing only Matt Aldridge and Will Stewart from the Paris Olympic team, the latter a spare. Despite this, the rush of talent from the benches and U23 squads proved to be enough to keep the fastest boat in the Caversham fleet as the envy of the world.
Their traditional rivals, Germany, have struggled throughout the past Olympiad, as the powers in Dortmund attempt to return the Deutschland Achter to its famous heights. To that end, they have retained much of the lineup that finished fourth at the Olympic Games. Joining the crew as experienced backup was Soenke Kruse and Julius Christ from the Paris pair, while Theis Hagemeister was a spare in their Paris campaign. Only Tobias Strangeman and Paul Klapperich were new to the squad this year, and to once again finish fourth will have been underwhelming. Despite the unflattering result, they did set the all-time championship best mark in the heats, suggesting there is more to come out of this group.
An Australian entry is never worth overlooking, but with this crew being made up of their Australia ‘A’ development group and the added experience of Olympian Jack Robertson, they may be of a little lower standard than expected. With a national enquiry following their underwhelming Olympic regatta, this group could be the key to rebuilding their prominence as a rowing power. With a strong US collegiate presence in the crew, it largely comprises this season’s graduates. For one, Harry Manton, a crab in the semifinal of the IRA National Championship ended his career in California on a sour note, but this event allows him to make his senior international debut, and a strong result here would point the two-time U23 international back onto his stratospheric course in the sport.
Another crew with a lot of new faces is the Chinese offering. Their first men’s eight at a World Rowing Cup regatta since 2022, this is the first senior race in Europe for all but one of the crew, with Sheng Cong having raced in the eight in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. With limited results to work with, as none of these athletes even competed in the major continental championships over the past two years, this crew is a complete unknown. One might assume that the established rowing nations will have enough pedigree to defeat the crew from a typically scull-focused nation, but there have been bigger shocks as this group opens their Los Angeles Olympic campaign.
Rounding out the field at their home World Cup are two eights from Italy. As has become common for the federation, they have a ‘B’ crew also competing on the stunning alpine lake. The first is the crew that finished third at the European Rowing Championships, narrowly beating the Germans for the final medal, while sitting a length behind the battle for first. This crew is filled with talented athletes, including five Paris Olympians, and the national selectors will be excited to see how this group develops throughout the season, especially gaining home advantage this weekend. While the ITA2 entry has typically been a developmental group, this weekend it is the most experienced crew in the entry. With six of Italy’s eight from Paris plus Luca Chiumento, a silver medallist in the quad, this crew has plenty of pedigree as they take their first international strokes of the Olympiad. How they will match up to the anointed ‘first’ crew remains to be seen. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got the better of them.
Prediction
Surviving a complete overhaul, the Great British streak in the eight looks in good shape as they should not face any stiffer tests than at the European Championship. Behind them, the Italian crews have historically been buoyed by their home water in previous years, so I will pick ITA1 and ITA2 to round out the podium.
About The Author
Discover more from JRN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
