A Year In Review – Under 23 rowing

As we move into the last month of 2021, we start to look back on a busy season in the International rowing calendar. First up, the Under-23s.

2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships

Having not been held in 2020, the World Rowing Under 23 Championships made an impressive return in July 2021. Racice in the Czech Republic was the host, and nearly 800 rowers from 55 nations took part. Of those 55 nations, 23 took home medals.

Italy finished top of the medal table with a total of 11 medals, including four golds. Germany took more medals (12) overall, with three golds, and Great Britain, despite having only seven boats entered, won four medals – three of them gold.

Of the 22 women’s single scullers, it was the reigning World Rowing junior Champion Alexandra Foester of Germany that took gold, but 17-year old Swiss sculler Aurelia-Maxima Janzen was hot on her heels. Janzen, who was noticeable for racing with macon blades, went on to win silver again in the single sculls at the European Rowing Under 23 Championships at the end of the season. Meanwhile, in the men’s single sculls, Bulgaria’s Emil Neykov picked up the gold in a stacked event with 29 competitors. Neykov matched this performance at the European Rowing Under 23 Championships, winning gold again.

With the USA winning the women’s eight by a comfortable margin, the last race of the World Rowing Under 23 Championships was the final of the men’s eight. The USA and Great Britain had set the fastest times in the heats, and the crews provided one of the most exciting races of the championships. After the review of a photo finish, it was confirmed that Great Britain had won in 5:34, just 0.21 seconds ahead of the USA.

Shakhzod Nurmatov and Evgeniy Agafonov put Uzbekistan on to the World U23 medal table this year, with a bronze in the lightweight men’s pair. While Chile dominated the race, Uzbekistan and the USA fought for bronze throughout the race with Uzbekistan holding the Americans off to earn themselves a podium position.

Although this year’s World Rowing U23 Championships was held without spectators due to the ongoing pandemic, the Czech Republic men’s quadruple scull received huge cheers from the locals and volunteers at the regatta course as they picked up gold for their country.

Turkey was one of the other 14 nations to pick up a gold medal, which they won in the lightweight women’s double sculls. Despite having had to come through the repechage, a beautifully times race by Merve Uslu and Elis Ozbay allowed them to scull through the Italian favourites in the final stages of the race.

2021 European Rowing U23 Championships

The 2021 season was rounded off in September when Kruszwica, Poland hosted the European Rowing U23 Championships which saw many of the medallists from Racice returning for another go, along with a few recent Olympians from Tokyo.

Of the 30 European nations entered, 19 took home medals. Romania and Italy matched each other’s gold medal tally throughout the finals picking up four each by the time of the women’s eight. In the women’s eight, Romania earned a strong gold, finishing over ten seconds ahead of Germany. The win, which put them at the top of the medal table was particularly notable as the crew was stroked by Tokyo 2020 Olympian Simona Radis who had won gold in the women’s single sculls just under two hours earlier in the day.

Next on the calendar…

2022 will see Varese in Italy host a joint World Rowing Under 19 and Under 23 Championships in July. Hazewinkel in Belgium will host the European Rowing Under 23 Championships in September. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see which of this year’s Under 23 medallists have an impact as they move to senior level racing.