Ukraine and Spain on top at 2021 World Rowing Coastal Championships

A record number of crews were entered for the 2021 edition of the World Rowing Coastal Championships with Oeiras, Portugal welcoming 34 nations from as far away as Japan, New Zealand and the United States. The three days of competition and seven different boat classes gave the 700 competitors a variety of conditions in this exciting format of rowing.

Nine nations won medals; Ukraine was on top of the medal table with three golds, one silver and one bronze. Spain came second with an impressive two golds, one silver and four bronzes.

The first gold of the Championships went to the women’s coxed quad of Ukraine made up of experienced flat-water rowers including double-Olympian and multiple indoor rowing record holder Olena Buryak. Two of Buryak’s crewmates, Yevheniia Dovhodko and Daryna Verhogliad, went on to win bronze in the women’s double later in the day, finishing behind fellow Ukrainians Kateryna Dudchenko and Anastasiia Kozhenkova, who took the gold.

It was gold again for Ukraine in the men’s coxed quad followed for silver by the Czech Republic which overcame a ten second penalty for a false start. Meanwhile Great Britain won bronze despite getting tangled up with the first navigation buoy.

There was an incredible display of sportsmanship in the early stages of the men’s doubles. After a collision between Belgium and Finland causing a broken blade for Belgium, Maxime Andre and Gaston Mercier passed a functional blade to the Norwegian Olympians Kjetil Borch and Jan Oscar Stabe Helvig who had also suffered a breakage, allowing them to continue in the race. There was sadly too much lost ground for the Norwegians to make up to get back into the medal zone. Sweden1, which had led from the start, took the gold.

Stefania Gobbi of Italy bought an end to a run of wins for Ukrainian Diana Dymchenko in the women’s solo taking gold. Dymchenko, who has won gold in this boat class at the last three World Rowing Coastal Championships, went home with the silver medal this year.

The men’s solo was full of drama with defending World Champion, Adrian Miramon Quiroga capsizing at the first turning buoy, making a miraculous recovery, and working his way back through the pack to win bronze. His fellow countryman, and Tokyo Olympian, Jaime Canalejo Pazos took gold and Eduardo Gabriel Linares Ruiz of Germany, silver.

There was more success for Spain in the last race of the day when Ander Martin and Esther Briz Zamorano matched their gold from last week’s World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals with a Coastal Championships gold. Spain also picked up silver and bronze in this boat class with Canalejo Pazos and Miramon Quiroga both earning their second medals of the day.

The 2022 edition of the World Rowing Coastal Championships will be held in Saundersfoot, Great Britain on 7 – 9 October 2022.