Image Credit: World Rowing
Entries: 31
A big field for the opening World Rowing Cup of the new Olympiad, but one that is missing the reigning Olympic champion and all three of the European Rowing Championship medallists from last month. The battle for gold and silver could be an all-Orange affair in their absence (or even if they had entered). Both Simon Van Dorp and Melvin Twellaar have won World Rowing Championship silver medals in the single – Twellaar in 2022 and Van Dorp in 2023. They also won medals at the Paris Olympic Games, with Van Dorp winning bronze in this boat class and Twellaar silver in the double. Watching these two go head-to-head could be one of the highlights of the regatta.
Behind these two, the leading challenger is likely to be Tim Brys of Belgium. The oldest competitor in the field at 32, he just missed out on a medal at the Paris Olympics. 2025 marks his 14th season as a senior international.
Belgium also has a second sculler competing in Gaston Mercier. He was tenth at the 2024 European Rowing Championships and sculled with Brys in the quad during the 2022 season.
Australia starts their Olympiad in Varese, and for the single, they have two entrants; Marcus Della Marta and Jack Cleary. Della, Marta, from Sydney University, made his senior debut in 2024, finishing seventh in the double at the third World Rowing Cup. Cleary is the more experienced athlete and was a member of the bronze medal-winning quad at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He raced in the single at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, finishing 12th.
Japan’s Ryuta Arakawa is his country’s most successful single sculler. He placed ninth in Paris and 11th in Tokyo. He also won the B-final at the 2022 World Rowing Championships and was eighth in 2023. He may not be pushing for a medal in Varese, but he’s capable of making the A-final.
Italy’s Davide Mumolo placed eighth at the Plovdiv European Rowing Championships. He picked up a bronze medal at the opening World Rowing Cup last season and was Italy’s single sculler at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, placing 11th.
Italy also boats a second sculler, Marco Selva. The teenager made his senior debut at the opening World Rowing Cup last season and picked up a bronze medal in the quad at the 2024 U23 World Rowing Championships.
New Zealand also open their Olympiad at the Varese World Rowing Cup and their representative in the single is Logan Ullrich. He comes hot off helping the University of Washington retain their IRA National Championship title, so quite how prepared for racing in the single he’ll be remains to be seen. Varese will be his first international sculling race as he’s more well known as a sweep oarsman, having won Olympic silver in the coxless four in Paris.
Norway is another nation with two scullers racing, Martin Helseth and Jonas Juel. Both raced at the Paris Olympic Games, Helseth finishing tenth in the double and Juel eighth in the quad. They raced together in the M2X at the European Rowing Championships, placing tenth.
Other scullers to watch for include Uruguay’s Bruno Cetraro Berriolo, 12th in the single in Paris (Uruguay’s best ever result in that event), the USA’s Jacob Plihal (13th in the single in Paris) and Brazil’s Lucas Verthein Ferreira, 12th in the single in Tokyo and 15th in Paris.
Prediction
Gold and silver will go to the Netherlands, but it is too close to call as to whether it will be Twellaar or Van Dorp in gold. Bronze should go to Brys of Belgium, but I think he will be pushed hard by both Arakawa and Mumolo.
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