On a day that ten more World Championship titles were awarded, fourteen nations made it on to the podium with four golds going to Great Britain. With several boats defending their titles from back in 2019, emotions were high after racing when we spoke to some of the medalists.
One of the boats successfully defending their title was New Zealand’s Women’s Pair. Grace Prendergast and Kerri Williams (nee Gowler) are also Olympic Champions in this boat class. Speaking after their final, Grace said:
It was very good race. Every time you win, it feels a bit different. We managed to stay consistent throughout the season, it was an exciting year. Now we will take some holidays!
Meanwhile, in the Men’s Pair, it was an historic win for Romania, said Sergiu Bejan;
Amazing race. Last 200m was very compacted. We are so proud because in Romania this is the first medal for this category.
Spain took silver and Jaime Canalejo Pazos was very happy with their performance and emotional after their race;
It is our first medal at the World Championships and it is just incredible. We made the most of the whole regatta and it has been a fantastic experience. The last 500 we thought about our families and friends, all the training we put in, and we’re so delighted with that result.
Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Great Britain’s Men’s Pair with Tom George saying;
It didn’t go the way we wanted. After the semi we were very confident but after 10-15 strokes it wasn’t great. Still, happy to come out with a medal.
The Lightweight Double Sculls saw two medals for Ireland. The women were up first and the Irish took bronze ahead of some very strong crews. Aoife Casey was delighted with their result;
I don’t remember the last 10 strokes. The lightweight double scull is so competitive, we are so pleased. At Europeans we came 4th, so we came here and had nothing to lose. Everybody in that race was so fast, we executed our race plan, we’re so pleased.
Shortly later, Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan defended their title as World Champions in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls. O’Donovan was his usual jovial self after their race;
End of a good year I guess! We train pretty hard, our technique is improving a bit. Last year we were focusing on the biceps, if people don’t think they are big enough now, they will be pretty afraid when they see us next year. You will need a pretty wide angle on your camera!
Great Britain took gold in both the Women’s and Men’s Four. Speaking after the women’s four final, Rebecca Shorten was already thinking ahead to next year;
Amazing. Each race we knew we had to improve to stay on top of the field, and this race, we had to keep our head down, make sure we didn’t move from our position. This has been a long year, long season, and next year with the Olympic Qualification it will be another huge one. But right now, I am a bit speechless!
The win for the British Men’s Four was particularly impressive given they had been racing with a medical substitute due to illness. David Ambler, was pleased to be able to have been able to support the crew to win gold.
Amazing to be part of such a successful program. Testament to the strength of the team. Matt went down with illness, bit of a stressful surprise, not an ideal situation, but you’re prepared for that as a sub. I am glad we got the result.”
Meanwhile, the Netherlands took bronze in the Men’s Four and Ralf Rienks was happy with their result;
It was our best row of the week. We knew all the other crews would be quick, GB and Australia were just too good for us today. We can be very happy with that performance. We have put the two strong guys in the middle of the boat so the two brothers don’t have to fight!
In the Women’s Quadruple Sculls, the Olympic Champions from China defended their World Championship title, but they came under pressure from the Netherlands and Bente Paulis was pleased they had been able to challenge them;
Everything is possible on the starting line. We wanted to stay cool, not to loose too much energy at the start as we have the tendency to start really fast. Our middle part was really good, and we could sprint and challenge the Chinese at the end. Delighted with that performance.
The last final of the day was the Men’s Quadruple Sculls which saw the first gold medal for Poland. Fabian Baranski was particularly pleased that they had managed to beat Italy (who took bronze);
It is special for us, in front of our families. We are World Champions ! Competition was strong, but we’re happy that we won the rematch from the Europeans with Italy.
The last races of the 2022 World Rowing Championships will take place tomorrow, Sunday 25th September. Racing starts at 10:40 CET with the first medal race at 13:05.
