33 countries to take part in First European Rowing Championships
since 1973
The first edition of the newly reinstated European Rowing
Championships will attract 33 nations according to entries
which were submitted to the International Rowing Federation
up until Monday’s deadline. A total of 426 rowers in
148 boats have entered to race at this important regatta.
The Women’s Single will feature a strong international
field with world silver medallist Rumyana Neykova from Bulgaria
and the Czech Single Sculler Mirka Knapkova, 4th place at
the World Champs two weeks ago. Also part of the field is
Sweden’s Frida Svensson who was bronze medallist at
the 2006 World Rowing Championships. Russian sculler Julia
Levina will also race in Poznan next week in the single as
will Under 23 bronze medallist from Hungary, Katalin Szabo.
Italy sends a big squad composed of some of their most successful
international athletes: Elia Luini and Leonardo Pettinari,
Italy’s successful Lightweight Men’s Double, have
reunited and will attempt their first European title here
in Poznan. Italy’s squad also includes 2007 top ten
athlete Daniele Gilardoni. Usually racing in the lightweight
event, Gilardoni pairs up with Lorenzo Bertini, 2007 World
Champs silver medalist in the Lightweight Men’s Single,
to try their luck in the European Open Double Sculls.
Italy’s Men’s quad, fourth in Munich, come to
the European Champs with three of the four rowers from the
World Championship crew. Luca Ghezzi, Federico Gattinoni and
Simone Raineri will attempt a seasonal grand finale with Simone
Venier replacing Rossano Galtarossa in the lineup.
2005 World Champions in the Lightweight Men’s Double
Sculls Zsolt Hirling and Tamas Varga from Hungary come to
these European Championships to take on the Italians and Poland’s
Robert Sycz and Tomasz Kucharski whose World Championship
performance was shadowed by a health problem with Sycz.
In the eights, Romania send their flagship boat, the Women’s
Eight, to take on the European title among a field of six
boats including Germany, Great Britain, Belarus Ukraine and
the Netherlands. Ondrej Synek, the Czech star single sculler,
silver medalist at this year’s World Rowing Championships
joins Vaclav Chalupa and Milan Dolecek in a Czech men’s
eight against 6 other crews.
The event will be held on Lake Malta in Poznan, Poland next
week. It was re-established last May 2006, when 28 European
national rowing federations elected a European Rowing management
board consisting of three elected members from the federations
and three members appointed by FISA, this way ensuring close
cooperation and coordination. The board oversees the running
of the event as well as the rules for the event. In total,
43 member federations are eligible to be part of the European
Rowing Championships.
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