Holders: Oxford Brookes University
Entries: 3
It’s Great Britain v Croatia v Canada in the top men’s four.
Croatia (racing as Croatian Rowing Federation, Croatia) will attract the most interest as the coxless four is the latest project for the outstanding Sinkovic brothers, Martin and Valent, who are joined by another pair of brothers, Patrik and Anton Loncaric. The Sinkovics need little introduction and are arguably the two best rowers in the world, with Olympic gold medals in the pair from Paris and Tokyo and the double in Rio. The Loncarics, meanwhile, raced the pair at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, qualifying the boat for Paris with an 11th place. They swapped seats with the Sinkovics, who had been in the double in 2023 and raced to a 12th place at the Paris Olympic Games. The four Croatians moved back into pairs for the Varese World Rowing Cup, with the Sinkovics winning silver and the Loncarics taking fourth. Martin and Valent have one Henley Royal Regatta win, winning The Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup (and equalling the course record) in 2018.
The Great Britain men’s coxless four races here as Oxford Brookes and Leander Club. The crew includes two former U23 world champions, Joshua Bowesman-Jones and Jake Wincomb. The rest of the crew is made up of Dan Graham and James Vogel. Graham made his senior debut at the final World Rowing Cup of the 2023 season, placing fourth in the four. He went one better at the final World Rowing Cup last season, taking a bronze in the coxless four. Vogel made his senior debut in 2021, making the A-final of the pair at the third World Rowing Cup. He made his second senior appearance last year, racing another A-final, only this time in the four. They started the LA Olympiad with a solid eighth place at the European Rowing Championships but made a big step on at the Varese World Rowing Cup to finish fourth.
The third crew in the event are Rowing Canada and Shawnigan Lake School, Canada. Their crew is Axel Ewashko, Steve Rosts, Ryan Clegg and Joel Cullen. Ewashko raced at the U23 World Rowing Championships in 2023, finishing eighth in the coxless four. Rosts was part of the Canadian quad at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, finishing in 17th. Clegg raced in the Canadian men’s eight in 2022 and 2023 and was in the crew that missed out on Olympic qualification for Paris after finishing third at the Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta in 2024. Cullen was also part of the eight in 2023 and at the Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta last May.
Prediction
The crew to beat are the Croatians, and, assuming they get a bye to the final, I would expect them to face the young British boat. It will not be plain sailing for the Croatians as the British seem to be getting better and better with every race, but I expect the Sinkovic/Loncaric combination to have the edge and take the win, although I think it will be closer than many people might expect.
