Entries are in for the European Rowing Under 23 Championships in Hazewinkel

Entries are in for the European Rowing Under 23 Championships, to take place in Hazewinkel, Belgium. Nearly 400 competitors are entered in the regatta from 30 member federations.

To be held at the Sport Vlaanderen Hazewinkel regatta course, situated in Willebroek, near the city of Mechelen, the venue has previously hosted numerous World and European Rowing events, including the 1985 World Rowing Championships, the 2006 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and more recently, the 2015 World Rowing Masters Regatta.

The men’s single sculls has attracted a large and very competitive field of 15 boats. Defending champion Emil Neykov from Bulgaria will take on Italy’s Marco Prati who was crowned World Rowing Under 19 Champion a month ago on his home waters in Varese. Poland’s Piotr Plominski will be a serious contender as well in the single, having finished seventh at the European Rowing Championships in Munich earlier this month in the double sculls.

The women’s single sculls will see the reigning World Rowing Under 19 Champion, Aikaterini Gkogkou of Greece, facing Aurelia-Maxima Janzen of Switzerland and Elis Osbay of Turkey, both silver medallists at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships – respectively in the women’s and lightweight women’s single sculls. Keep an eye too on Anna Santruckova of the Czech Republic who raced all year at senior level.

In the men’s double sculls, all eyes will be on home nation’s heroes, Tristan Vandenbussche and Aaron Andries, reigning 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Champions in that boat class. They will face their runner-ups from Varese, Moldova’s Ivan Corsunov and Alexandr Bulat.

The event will see lots of gold medallists from the 2022 World Under 23 Championships : Romania’s Andrada-Maria Morosanu and Iulia-Lilian Balauca in the women’s double sculls, Greece’s Christina Bourmpou and Evangelia Fragkou in the women’s pair, and Jake Wincomb, lone returner in the GB Men’s Eight who took home gold in Varese.

Germany is boating the biggest team, having entered 18 of the 22 boat classes. Last year, a wide spread of nineteen countries return home with medals – will it be surpassed this year ?

The European Rowing Under 23 Championships are raced in 22 boat classes and is open to all European Member National Federations (which includes Israel) for athletes under the age of 23. A rower may compete in an Under 23 rowing event until 31 December of the year in which he/she reaches the age of 22.

Racing begins on Saturday 3 September 2022 with heats and progresses through repechages, semifinals and to the finals on Sunday 4 September.

Keep track of results, race information, photographs on www.worldrowing.com and on World Rowing’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels.