2021 European champions crowned on Italy’s Lago di Varese

The finals of the 2021 European Rowing Championships were hugely anticipated by so many and the Italian course hosted an incredible day of racing. 18 nations picked up medals with Great Britain, who were absent in 2020, topping the medal table.

PR1 women’s single sculls (PR1W1x) – Final

 Israel’s Moran Samuel was first to the 500m marker, but reigning World Champion Birgit Skarstein of Norway remained close behind. Samuel responded to every attack that Skarstein made, but approaching the 1,000m marker Skarstein broke through, and moved into the lead. Meanwhile, a great race was happening for third place between the gold and silver medallists from the 2020 European Rowing Championships, Anna Sheremet of Ukraine and Nathalie Benoit of France. In the final stages of the race, you could see the determination on the face of Birgit Skarstein as Moran Samuel tried to close the gap. Anna Sheremet managed to hold off Nathalie Benoit for the bronze medal.

Results: NOR, ISR, UKR, FRA, GER, BLR

 Birgit Skarstein, Norway, Gold:

“The race was really hard, but I enjoyed it so much. We had amazing conditions. I’ve been training a lot here in Italy and I was really excited to see if I had done enough, and be able to perform. I am very happy with this result.”

Moran Samuel, Israel, Silver:

“I’m not used to this cold and rain but I had a great race. It’s amazing to be racing again after 20 months without competition, thanks all for making this event possible in Covid time! I’m very happy to be able to race next to Brigit again and now it’s all about getting ready for Tokyo.”

Anna Sheremet Ukraine, Bronze:

“My race was really good, it was a hard fight for this medal.”

 PR1 men’s single sculls (PR1M1x) – Final

 Defending World and European Champion Roman Polianskyi made the early impression and was still up at 38-39 strokes per minute in the second quarter of the race. Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard was hot on Polianskyi’s heels, matching his speed and sitting in a comfortable second place at the halfway marker. With Polianskyi continuing to dominate, there was a great race for the bronze medal between Germany’s Marcus Klemp and Israel’s Shmuel Daniel. It was another emphatic win for Polianskyi with Pritchard taking a well-earned silver. Marcus Klemp took the bronze medal just a fraction ahead of Daniel.

Results: UKR, GBR, GER, ISR, ITA, ESP

 Benjamin Pritchard, Great Britain, Silver :

“Hopefully in Tokyo I’ll be one step further up if training goes well.”

Marcus Klemp, Germany, Bronze :

I’m very pleased with the evolution of my race as I had a slow start. I’m very happy to win a medal behind the two favourites.”

 Lightweight women’s single sculls (LW1x) – Final

 The top three scullers were all within just over a second of each other 500m in to the race with Alena Furman of Belarus ahead of Claire Bove of France and starting to move away in the second quarter of the race. Lydia Heaphy of Ireland had been in third place at 500m but started to slip back. By the second half, Gianina-Elena Beleaga of Romania had moved into second place but Furman was in a comfortable position with a clear water lead. The positions remained unchanged at the finish.

Results: BLR, ROU, FRA, NED, GBR, IRL

Claire Bove, France, Bronze :

“I had so much fun during this race, I had the feeling to dance with my boat. I hope that my teammate (Laura Tarantola) my father and all my coaches are happy.”

 Lightweight men’s single sculls (LM1x) – Final

 2019 World Championship silver medallist Peter Galambos of Hungary was the fastest qualifier and made a strong start in the final but there was a very close pack chasing including Italy, Spain and Poland. The experienced Galmbos continued to control the race, but at 1,750m Gabriel Soares of Italy cranked his rating up to 40 strokes per minute trying to shake off Poland’s Artur Mikolajczewski. It perhaps wasn’t as straight forward as he might have hoped, and it came to a photo finish for the silver medal with Soares eventually being confirmed as the recipient.

Results: HUN, ITA, POL, IRL, GER, ESP

 Peter Galambos, Hungary, Gold :

“It was a fantastic race, I felt very strong physically. Everything went according to the plan.”

Gabriel Soares, Italy, Silver :

“I had a very good race, it’s my first time competing in the single after the quad. It’s fantastic to race at home, I live 2km away from here so it’s very special for me to be here. Due to COVID my parents could not come to the course to see me.”

 Artur Mikolajczewski, Poland, Bronze :

“What a great race! I was very comfortable out there today, even if the weather wasn’t great. My (doubles) partner is injured at the moment, but we will get back together and continue to work towards Tokyo.”

 PR2 Mixed Double Sculls (PR2Mix2x) – Final

 The British duo showed stamped their authority from the start, leading out of the blocks and establishing a length lead ahead of the Netherlands, with a fight for bronze ensuing between Poland, France and Italy. With perfect synchronicity, the British continued to extend their lead through the second quarter of the race with comfortable clear water lead at the halfway marker. The British were left to race their own race four lengths ahead of the pack but, with the Netherlands in second, a great race for the bronze between France and Poland came down to the line with the French just sneaking ahead.

Results: GBR, NED, FRA, POL, ITA, UKR

 Laurence Whiteley, Great Britain, Gold :

“We had no idea what to expect today. Due to lockdown we didn’t know where our competitors stood. But this is a good start to the season, it shows our training has been paying off.”

Corne De Koning, Netherlands, Silver :

“That was a great race! It was really tough, and a big fight for silver and bronze. We really had to make some pushes in the last quarter, and managed to maintain our silver medal.”

Perle Bouge, France, Bronze :

“After the European championships last year we were a little bit disappointed and so we worked really hard from last year to improve our results. We are super proud of our performance today.”

 PR3 Mixed Coxed Four (PR3Mix4+) – Final

 Reigning World Champions Great Britain were first to the 500m mark with a commanding lead over France, with Italy in bronze medal position. Great Britain continued to extend their lead in the second half of the race. Whilst the effort was beginning to show on their faces into the third quarter, the British held on to their comfortable lead ahead of France who crossed the line second. By the finish line, it was the Ukraine who had moved ahead of Italy to take the bronze medal.

Results: GBR, FRA, UKR, ITA, ISR, NED

 Ellen Buttrick (b), PR3 Mixed coxed four , Great Britain, Gold :

We came to set a new standard and show we hadn’t lost anything over lockdown. I think our result which is not that far off our world record, shows we are on the right track towards Tokyo.”

Yuliia Malasai (c), PR3 Mixed coxed four , Ukraine, Bronze :

“we had a good average speed and we were able to prolong a good speed throughout the race. It was a good race for us.”

 Lightweight Men’s Coxless Pairs (LM2-) – Final

 With just three crews racing, it was all to play for with the young Italians just half a length ahead of Hungary at the 500m. In the second half of the race, Hungary decided to make their move and by the 1,500m marker had just taken the lead and then started to move away from Italy. The positions remained to the line with Hungary taking the gold medal.

Results: HUN, ITA, MDA

 Simone Mantegazza Italy, Silver :

“We suffered during this race because Hungary is very strong in the middle. We tried to push but we were too tired in the last 500m. It’s not so special to race at home this time because the spectators are not allowed due to COVID so we can’t hear them.”

Dmitrii Zincenco, Republic of Moldova, Bronze :

“It wasn’t our best race – we haven’t been able to train as much as we’d like to, as our lake back home was frozen until recently.”

 Lightweight Men’s Quadruple Sculls (LM4x) – Final

 Although France had been the fastest qualifiers, it was Italy that led out of the blocks. However, France soon increased their speed and were just over a second behind Italy 500m into the race, with Austria in third and the Netherlands in fourth. By halfway, Italy, with the talented Niels Torre in the stroke seat, had extended their lead with a slight clear water advantage over France. In the final 250m, France started to make their move, but the Italians responded going up to 42 strokes per minute. A photo finish confirmed that Italy had just managed to hold off France with the Netherlands getting the better of Austria for the bronze medal.

Results: ITA, FRA, NED, AUT

 Martino Goretti, Italy, Gold :

“We were all in selection for the single, so for us actually this boat was the second choice. We are all strong single scullers. Together it was a great combination.”

Baptiste Savaete, France, Silver :

We did a great race and we nearly managed to get back in the second 1000m as we were fighting hard. We missed gold for 2 hundreds of second only but we have absolutely no regret.”

Lay De Jong, Netherlands, Bronze :

“That was a very tight race, very fast, but we had nothing to lose. We settled into our pace, but had to keep pushing it, as we were fighting with the Austrians. You have to close your eyes and go. We’re very happy with the result.”

 Women’s Pair (W2-) – Final

 The defending champions from Romania were first out of the blocks with Ireland in second and Great Britain in third. By the first timing point, Romania were still leading but the reigning Olympic Champions Great Britain had moved into second place and were starting to increase their boat speed and were able to row through the Romanians in the second 500m. Great Britain’s Helen Glover and Polly Swann held the lead at the halfway marker and started moving away from Romania. Meanwhile, the Spanish duo who won silver at the 2020 European Rowing Championships had moved up to bronze medal position. By 1,500m, Great Britain were starting to break free, but Romania were not letting them go without a fight and started to move faster than the Brits in the final quarter of the race. Polly Swann seemed to find another gear for Great Britain in the final stages to hold off the final attack from Romania. Spain just pipped Greece for the bronze.

Results: GBR, ROU, ESP, GRE, CRO, IRL

 Polly Swann (s), Great Britain, Gold : 

“It’s been a long winter but just to come out with Helen to race feels pretty epic. I don’t think we expected to win.”

 Aina Cid (b), Spain, Bronze :

“I think that went pretty well! We didn’t have a great start, but we got better as the race went on. This is a good beginning to the season. We wanted to be fighting for the medals, and we knew Romania was fast, and in the GB crew Helen just came back. It’s a bronze with a gold feeling!”

 Men’s Pair (M2-) – Final

 The Croatian Sinkovic brothers had a fantastic start to establish the early lead, ahead of the Turlan brothers from France. Whilst Croatia continued to lead, opening up clear water at 1,000m, the remaining pack was still very close and it was all to play for. In the third quarter of the race, France had slipped back to fifth with Serbia moving into silver medal position and Italy in third. Italy started to reel Serbia in during the final stages of the race and moved into silver medal position, with Serbia just holding off Romania for bronze.

Results: CRO, ITA, SRB, ROU, NED, FRA

 Valent Sinkovic, Croatia, Gold :

“Our race went really well, we expected to lead but not by that much in the middle of the race. We were confident and we felt good. At the end of the race we didn’t want to go too high in stroke rate as we knew that it was enough to win.”

Giuseppe Vicino, Italy, Silver :

“My grandma died 3 weeks ago from COVID. this medal is for my grandma.”

 Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) – Final

 Lithuania looked like they had a point to prove, hanging on to the defending European Champions from Romania in the initial stages. 2020 European bronze medallists France also made a strong start but had slipped back into fifth by the first timing point at 500m. Into the second quarter of the race, the Romanian duo were absolutely flying with Lithuania still in second place and 2020 European silver medallists, the Netherlands, in third place. The new British line-up were having a great scull and were still very much in the mix into the third quarter of the race, and the German duo were also starting to catch up with the pack. In the final 500m, the Brits really started to make their move with the Lithuanians spotting them coming, and having to respond. Romania crossed the line first, Lithuania in second, and it went to a photo finish for third with Great Britain eventually being confirmed as bronze medallists.

Results: ROU, LTU, GBR, NED, GER, FRA

 Simona Geanina Radis, Romania, Gold :

“We really wanted this result, we’ve trained so hard. We’ve been in Italy for four months, away from our families, to train. This is just a test, before Tokyo.”

Donata Karaliene, Lithuania, Silver :

We are very happy with our comeback to rowing- it’s like a pheonix rising from the ashes. This is a great step for us before the Olympic Games.

Saskia Budgett, Great Britain, Bronze :

“I had no idea where we were and Holly was just screaming “squeeze”. After the line I just bust into tears as it means so much for us. We trust each other so much.”

 Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) – Final

 Russia and France were matching each other’s boat speed in the first 500m with very little between the remaining four crews. At 1,000m, there was less than a second behind all six crews. The Netherlands led through 1,500m with Great Britain also starting to make a move and taking second place with France in third. In the final quarter of the race, the French started to move through and powered into the lead. Switzerland also had a strong final sprint but left it too late to move into medal contention with France, the Netherlands and Great Britain taking the medals.

Results: FRA, NED, GBR, SUI, POL, RUS

 Hugo Boucheron, France, Gold :

“We had a complicated year, thanks to our coaches and the fans for their trust. We are very happy with the result as the competition was very high. We’ll enjoy today and go back to work on Monday.”

Melvin Twellar, Netherlands, Silver :

“Race was good, especially the middle of the race. The crews are so competitive to each other and the race was so tight. We’ll compete in Lucerne next.”

Graeme Thomas, Great Britain, Bronze :

“We learned a lot from our semi, which we were able to put into practice. We were so focused on our race that we didn’t tune into what was happening around us. The second half went well. We haven’t raced at this level in 20months so this was a good place to start. We came to learn, and work towards the next competition. We’re excited for what’s to come next.”

 Women’s Four (W4-) – Final

 Defending European Champions, the Netherlands, led out from the start with the new-look British combination tracking them closely, and 2020 European bronze medallists Ireland in third place. By 1,500m, Ireland had moved ahead of Great Britain with the Netherlands continuing to lead and the remainder of the pack somewhat further behind. The Dutch just managed to hold off the final charge from Ireland with Great Britain taking bronze, clear water ahead of Romania

Results: NED, IRL, GBR, ROU, RUS, ITA

 Karolien Florijn, Netherlands, Gold :

It was tough but we did our own race and we had to push hard to finish in front of the Irish. They didn’t make it easy for us but it’s more fun when you get chased. It’s our third European title and we are very happy.”

 Aifric Keogh, Ireland, Silver :

“The medal this year means a lot to us because were so close to Olympic qualification. A lot of crews from Ireland are already qualified, and for us to be able to finish that close to the Dutch is a really huge confidence boost.”

Karen Bennett, Great Britain, Bronze :

“That was a good race. We probably should have moved with the Irish in the last 750. We had a good start and a good first half but we were just spent after that. But we’re a new crew, and hope to continue to progress.”

 Men’s Four (M4-) – Final

 The Dutch went off at 50 strokes per minute showing they were keen to hold on to their 2020 European Championships title and they were the first across the 500m marker, but Great Britain were just 0.02 seconds behind and by 750m the British had taken the lead which they had extended by 1,000m. Romania were hot on the heels of the Netherlands, and closing in fast whilst Great Britain continued to move away to lead by almost four seconds at 1,500m.  In the final quarter of the race, Romania moved into second place with Italy moving into third. The race proved that it is likely to be a very hotly contested boat class for the remainder of the 2021 season.

Results: GBR, ROU, ITA, NED, POL, RUS

 Oliver Cook, Great Britain, Gold :

“The final was good, we stepped up race over race. As we didn’t race for a long time it was important for us to get used to racing again. Sitting at the race and feeling the adrenaline rushing in our veins is a feeling that we only get when competing.”

Cosmin Pascari, Romania, Silver :

“This is the most competitive boat class in the whole European championships. The whole field with neck and neck throughout the whole race. This medal is a gift.”

 Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Final

 2020 European Silver medallists Italy got out first with Great Britain looking to be fairly conservative off the start. Meanwhile, 2020 European bronze medallists Romania were in third, ahead of the gold medallists from the same event, the Netherlands. At halfway, Romania had moved into second place ahead of Great Britain with Italy continuing to lead. The Dutch were keeping the pressure on the leaders showing they were still in contention for a medal. By the final quarter of the race, Great Britain were trying to close in on Italy and it was still all to play for between the Netherlands and Romania. Italy had to respond, taking their rating up to 42 strokes per minute and were able to hold on to gold medal position ahead of Great Britain.

Results: ITA, GBR, NED, ROU, IRL, RUS

Emily Craig, Great Britain, Silver :

It was a really good race, we talked about sticking to our race plan. We couldn’t have given anything more to be honest.”

Ilse Paulis, Netherlands, Bronze :

We gave it all today but the other crews were just better today. We are happy to win a medal and we’ll come back hungrier.

 Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Final

 The German duo leapt out of the starting blocks looking to overturn the Italians who beat them at the 2020 European Rowing Championships. Defending World Champions, Ireland, were sitting in third place at 500m but got ahead of Italy in the second quarter of the race. Ireland then moved ahead of Germany in the third quarter, but Germany clearly hadn’t lost heart and kept the pressure on, staying ahead of Italy. Ireland extended their lead in the last stages of the race to cross the line first with Germany taking silver and Italy bronze.

Results: IRL, GER, ITA, CZE, SUI, UKR

 Paul O’Donovan, Ireland, Gold : 

It was a decent race, it’s good to be back. I was off last season so Fintan raced in the single last year. Fintan is just dragging me along in the double. We need bigger biceps. We’re gonna work on some curls which will see us through to the end of the summer.”

Jason Osborne, Germany, Silver :

“It’s so good to finally race again, especially that so many great crews are competing here. With the Olympics in the back of our minds, it’s important to race to progress. We’ll race in Zagreb and Lucerne until Tokyo.”

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x) – Final

 It was a strong start for the Netherlands, trying to break clear of Germany, the two crews unchanged from the gold and silver medal winning crews at the 2020 European Rowing Championships. A new line-up from Great Britain was in third place at 500m with a small gap back to the rest of the crews. With the Dutch still in the lead at halfway, there was nothing between Germany and Great Britain with the British moving into second place just after the timing point. Going into the final quarter of the race, the Netherlands had to work really hard to hold off Great Britain who were just half a length behind. Germany remained in third place, but Italy and Norway were really attacking in the closing stages.

Results: NED, GBR, GER, NOR, ITA, UKR

Carlotta Nwajide, Germany, Bronze :

“We wanted more and as a heat winner our goal was to win today. We still have a lot of work to do. But it’s a medal and I think that we should always be satisfied when winning a medal.”

 Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Final

The Italians were first through the 500m timing point, closely tracked by the Netherlands and Great Britain. The Dutch and the Italians were at identical speeds in the third quarter with Italy doing just enough to hold the Netherlands off. Meanwhile, Great Britain were having to work hard to hold off Poland for the bronze medal and Estonia in a very close fifth position. In the final quarter of the race, Poland moved ahead of Great Britain and Italy were still managing to hold off the Netherlands. Estonia had an epic final charge moving into bronze medal position, pushing Poland and Great Britain back down the placings.

Results: ITA, NED, EST, POL, GBR, LTU

 Simone Vernier, Italy, Gold :

“We had a very good race, it was our first competition in this composition so we are very happy. It’s a difficult moment for all due to COVID. Next we’ll race in Lucerne and Sabaudia before Tokyo.”

Abe Wiersma, Netherlands, Silver :

“It was a tough race. We always try to come here without expectations although we were the reining European Champions. So, to be beaten by the Italians is pretty hard, but we will be back stronger, and better. We have had a tough winter period, we’ve not been in the Quad that much.”

Juri-Mikk Udam, Estonia, Bronze :

“This is all in preparation for the Olympic qualification. We were in 5th until around 500-600m to go, and kicked it up, managing to move into 3rd by 300m to go.”

 Women’s Eight (W8+) – Final

 2020 European Champions Romania were the quickest crew off the start and were just ahead of the Netherlands at 500m with Russia in third place. Romania continued to control the race from the front with the Netherlands remaining in second place. There was a battle between Russia and Great Britain for bronze with Russia eventually coming out on top.

Results: ROU, NED, RUS, GBR, GER, ITA

 Maria-Magdalena Rusu, Romania, Gold :

“Really strong competition but we trained in Italy and while we were in training camp we learned a lot about what it means to race hard and today we were able to do that ».

Dieuwke Fetter, Netherlands, Silver :

“It was a pretty good race for us, it’s a good step up compared to last year. Now we go back to the Netherlands to prepare for the Olympic qualification regatta as we need our ticket for Tokyo. And then we’ll see…”

 Men’s Single Sculls (M1x) – Final

 The final of the men’s single sculls was highly anticipated with a very strong line-up, and the race did not disappoint. Germany’s Oliver Zeidler made the early impression crossing the 500m timing point marginally ahead of Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen. The young Greek sculler Stefanos Ntouskos was in third place with Norway’s Kjetil Borch in fourth. By halfway, Zeidler continued to lead with Ntouskos having moved into second, but Nielsen was not giving up and started to close the gap again in the final quarter of the race. It looked like Zeidler was untouchable in the closing stages but the other two medals were all to play for. Ntouskos seemed to be going for the silver medal and in the process lost the bronze when Poland’s Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk sculled through to third.

Results: GER, DEN, POL, GRE, CRO, NOR

 Oliver Zeidler, Germany, Gold :

“The final was good for me. I’m not yet totally happy with my performance and I need to continue to work. The final in Tokyo might be the same as today but there is still a long way to go.”

Sverri Nielsen, Denmark, Silver :

“It was very good. My coach and I were looking at the time from the semi finals and we could see that it was gonna be a close race. Of course, I would have loved to defend the European title but I think this was really good so I can’t complain. That race went very well, maybe I went a little bit too easy in the middle of 1000 but overall I think I had a really good performance’

Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk, Poland, Bronze :

“This feels great, the race was so close. It was one of those races that could have gone either way.”

Women’s Single Sculls (W1x) – Final

 Great Britain’s Victoria Thornely was first off the start, but Russia’s Hanna Prakhatsen soon moved into the lead, closely followed by Sophie Souwer of the Netherlands. With Prakhatsen beginning to dominate the field, Thornley was in turn coming under pressure from Swiss sculler Jeannine Gmelin for third place. By the third quarter, Thornley had started to increase her pace and moved into silver medal position, but there was still no touching Prakhatsen. Souwer had dropped back into fifth place with Tatsiana Klimovich of Belarus having moved into fourth. It was an incredible performance from Hanna Prakhatsen winning the gold medal having won the European Olympic Qualification Regatta just four days previously.

Results: RUS, GBR, SUI, BLR, NED, UKR

 Victoria Thornley, Great Britain, Silver :

“I did a few mistakes but I did the changes I wanted to make after the semifinal. That’s definitely a positive performance and a good place to start the season.

Jeannine Gmelin, Switzerland, Bronze :

“I’m very satisfied with this result. The last part of my race was not ideal but overall, I’m very happy. It’s a good start in my season.” 

Men’s Eight (M8+) – Final

The Germans went out with real intent looking to improve on their performance from the preliminary race and they had established almost half a length lead by 500m. Great Britain were matching Germany stroke-for-stroke with Romania in bronze medal position. By halfway, it was German’s race to lose with Great Britain and Romania continuing to fight behind. Into the third quarter, the British started to move and were closing the gap on Germany. Meanwhile, the Dutch had the Romanians in their sight and were starting to move towards third position. At 1,500m Great Britain had broken through Germany. The final quarter of the race was arguably one of the most exciting bits of racing of the Championships as Great Britain held on to gold but Romania and the Netherlands came through and pushed Germany out of the medals.

Results: GBR, ROU, NED, GER, ITA

 Mohamed Sbihi, Great Britain, Gold :

“We never really want to give away what was our ambition. That was a good performance today, good enough to take gold.

Adrian Munteanu, Romania, Silver :

“It is the most important race so far for us because we are in front of Germany and close to Great Britain. This result gives us a lot of hope for the Olympic qualifying regatta. Now we go back home in Romania to train before Lucerne.”