Strong Greek showing at Coastal Championships

Racing takes place in six boat classes; men’s and women’s solos, doubles and quads. The largest number of entries is in the men’s double, with 38 boats competing. All three of the 2013 medallists will be returning in this event, the Garbaldi brothers from Italy, Greek Olympians, the Gkountoulas twins and Stefano Donat and Andrea Milos from Italy. They will be looking to defend their titles in the face of stiff competition.

Close races are also expected in the men’s solo where the top three from 2013 will face off once again. Lars Gumprecht from Spain, Simone Martini from Italy and Peter Berg from Sweden took the podium at the 2013 World Rowing Coastal Championships.

The women’s solo also sees the return of 2013 coastal gold medallist Alexandra Tsiavou from Greece and silver medallist Stephanie Chantry from France. Tsiavou was new to coastal rowing last year after medalling in flat water rowing at the 2012 Olympic Games. In 2013 Tsiavou proved her fitness and rowing technique could put her on top of the podium even in the rough waters of Helsignborg, Sweden. Now, on her home course, Tsiavou will once again be going for gold.

Sneaking in amongst the entries is rowing great, Vaclav Chalupa from the Czech Republic. Chalupa won World Rowing’s highest honour, the Thomas Keller Medal, in 2012 for his distinguished accomplishments in international rowing. Silver medallist at the 1992 Olympic Games, Chalupa’s international career spanned more than two decades and included four World Championship silver medals in the men’s single sculls. Retired from international rowing since 2009, Chalupa steps back onto the scene in coastal rowing as part of the men’s quad.

Competitors race on a 4 km course in the heats, hoping to make it to the A-finals that will take place on Saturday. The course includes five buoys, around which the boats will have to carefully navigate to make it to the finish. The first half of the course heads out and back along the west side of the harbour, then turns out into the harbour, before heading back to the finish line along the shore of the east side of the harbour.

In the finals races, the crews will race a longer distance course of 6 km that follows roughly the same pattern with longer portions along the west and east shore of the harbour.

For more information about the event, click here: http://www.worldrowing.com/events/2014-world-rowing-coastal-championships/event-information

For more information about coastal rowing, click here: http://www.worldrowing.com/coastal/