Image Credit: World Rowing
Reigning Champions: Lauren Rowles, Gregg Stevenson (Great Britain)
Entries: 10
After the excellent racing at the Paris Paralympic Games, the pace of elite sport keeps rolling, and eyes have immediately turned towards the future. For the first major stop of the Los Angeles Paralympic cycle, the world looks east to Shanghai for the World Rowing Championships, as a field of familiar faces assembles to continue their rivalries. One notable absence from the entry list is Great Britain, as the field is opened up following the retirements of Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson. Great Britain has won every major championship they have entered in this event since 2016, and their absence provides a compelling twist in this event.
China
The heirs apparent to the Great British title, China, will enter this event as favourites on home water. Across the last two years, the combination of Shuang Liu and Jijian Jiang has established itself as the only credible threat to the domination, racing the British close at the 2023 World Rowing Championships and leading the first 1850 metres of the Paralympic final in Paris, before losing in the final sprint to the line. This year, their first international race will be at the World Rowing Championships, but expect them to attempt once again to control the race from the front and with the absence of their most notable rivals, they will be favourites to take their first global championship gold in the boat class since the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
Germany
The new combination to watch out for in this event comes from Germany, as Jasmina Bier and Paul Umbach. First racing together last year, they quickly established themselves as a strong contender, winning silver medals at the European Rowing Championships and the Poznan World Rowing Cup. Having not raced at the previous year’s World Rowing Championships, qualification for Paris relied on a performance at the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, but with only two to qualify in Lucerne, they finished third, ending their hopes for 2024. This year, they have started strong, winning gold at the European Rowing Championships and will line up with confidence in Shanghai, as they face a full-strength field in the event for the first time in their careers.
Ukraine
As the world champions from 2022, the last time Great Britain was absent from the entry list, Ukraine has the unique benefit of Iaroslav Koiuda being the only athlete on the start line in Shanghai who has ever won World Rowing Championship gold in this event. Joining him is Anna Aisanova, his doubles partner since the start of last season, with the duo finishing fourth in Paris. They raced at the European Rowing Championships this year, finishing second in a tight race. Three months later, they will row at their first World Rowing Championship as a duo, hoping the experience from three years ago will help them succeed in a very talented field.
Israel
Bronze medallists in Paris, Israel hope to land amongst the medals again in Shanghai. Since their first race as a combination on the international stage at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, Shahar Milfelder and Saleh Shahin have consistently improved throughout this period, moving from seventh at those championships in Belgrade to claim the final qualification spot at the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta before their remarkable bronze medal in Paris. This season, they have not had as much success. Their first and only race before these championships was at the European Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, where they finished third in a close, three-boat field. To continue their rapid improvement, they must exceed this Dianshan Lake standard.
Brazil
One of the most experienced federations on the para-rowing scene, Brazil has missed this event in just one World Rowing Championships since 2014. However, despite this experience, they have experienced a downturn, missing out on qualification for the Paris Paralympic Games, the first time since Rowing was added to the Paralympic programme. This season, they return the same crew, as double Paralympian Michel Gomes Pessanha joins with Gessyca Guerra in this crew. Part of the issue in 2024 may have been that the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta was that Pessanha had not raced on the global stage since the Tokyo Games. Endeavouring not to make the same mistake again, the Brazilians raced in the World Rowing Cup in Varese, taking a commanding victory in the two-boat field. This week, they will face sterner competition, but the duo will be keen to prove Brazil remains a significant power within para-rowing
Mexico
The only other crew in the PR2 mixed doubles in Varese, Mexico, has a history of mixing between PR2 and PR3 in their competitions. For the Paris Paralympic cycle, Miguel Angel Nieto Carpio spent most of his time in the PR2 category, but after qualifying in the PR3 double at the Americas continental qualifier (where no PR2 event was offered), they moved up to a higher category. This year, he returns to the PR2 double, joined by Liliana Gallo Flores, who has also previously raced in the PR3 category despite her status. After an underwhelming result at the Varese World Rowing Cup, they will aim to improve their showing in a competitive field at their first World Rowing Championships together.
France
Following their home Paralympic Games, the French double has changed personnel. Initially taking up rowing as cross-training, Benjamin Daviet returns to para-biathlon after finishing fifth in Paris, leaving Perle Bouges searching for a new partner. Targeting her fifth Paralympic Games in this boat class, the 47-year-old has stayed inside the national squad, combining with Alexis Sanchez for this championship. Categorised as a PR1 rower, he was faster than all of the PR2 entrants at the national championships in April and will join Bouge in the double, one day after the PR1 single in Shanghai. A new combination, Sanchez raced just the PR1 single through the season while Bouge focused on her successful Hyrox World Championship campaign. Together in the double again, they will aim to be competitive against the world’s best PR2 rowers in Shanghai.
Ireland
With star athlete Katie O’Brien out with a spinal injury, the Irish selectors have been forced into a change in the shining star of the para rowing squad. A fifth-place finish at the 2023 World Rowing Championships qualified the nation’s first boat for the Paralympic Games in 12 years. Since then, the lineup has changed. Tiarnan O’Donnell won a seat in time for the Paris Games, where the crew finished eighth, while Sadhbh Ni Laoghaire, who stepped in for O’Brien, made her full international debut this year. This season, they have been unable to race in this boat class but have succeeded in other categories throughout the World Rowing Cup series. In Varese, O’Donnell raced in the single, winning gold, and they collected a bronze medal in Lucerne despite being forced to race up into the PR3 category. This event will serve as a new baseline for the young crew, as they hope to build on it throughout the Paralympic cycle.
Turkey
Granted an entry to last summer’s Paralympic Games by the Bipartite Commission despite finishing last at the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta, the Paris field would always be a struggle for the Turkish crew. Despite those two challenging events that opened their international rowing careers, the crew returns for a second Paralympic cycle unchanged to build on that experience. This season, 19-year-old Yigit Dogukan Bozkurt raced well to take bronze in the PR2 men’s single sculls at the Varese World Rowing Cup regatta as his doubles partner, Nursen Sen, did not attend. Together for Shanghai, they hope to build on these performances with an eye towards Los Angeles in three years.
Uzbekistan
Rounding out the field, Uzbekistan is the only new entry in the field, having not raced in the PR2 mixed double internationally since the Asian Para Games in 2023. This crew is entirely different from that crew, as Mukhayyo Abdusattorova, who raced in the PR1 women’s single in Paris and won bronze in the event at the Asian Para Games, moves up to the PR2 classification. Joining her is Diyorbek Boybolsinov, a newer face on the scene, who made his international rowing debut at the Varese World Rowing Cup regatta this year, finishing second among a tight field in the PR2 men’s single sculls. This combination hopes to perform strongly, as the last crew to race in this event at the World Rowing Championships reached the A-final in 2022.
Prediction
With the British gone, I would expect the Chinese double to pick up gold, with the German combination pushing them close. For bronze, I predict Ukraine will round out the podium.
