Rowing FISA European Championships 2021

[Werloc 3,191]

1 hour ago, Benolympique said:

there is no quota distributed on these Europeans!

I know.

 

I'm talking about the Lithuanian team being in form to fight for it. Don't know if there is anyone outside of Europe that is still challenging there, right now the biggest rivals seem to be Estonia.

[CCB 612]

Another rusty day for the Dutch rowers. The ladies doubles have made it to the final, but will only play a supporting role there. They will lose their European title for sure.

 

Furthermore, the men's quadruple is not as impressive as usual. I see Italy or GB winning the final.

 

In the light women's double sculls, the Netherlands was the top favorite. GB makes much more of an impression so far. Same for the men's four (GB turns out to be a lot stronger). 

 

In total 11 finals in Olympic classes, I expect six medals, but no gold.

[Jan Linha 622]

Well, regarding the performace by  Synek/Podrazil in double sculls and their last place in the semifinal. I think the Final Quali regatta will be pretty tough for them. Hopefully the ECH was been only the test for Olympic qualification. I believe they still can make it! 

[Makedonas 2,239]

Not a good day for the Greeks 

 

Our LM2X and M2- finished 6th in their semifinals which was more or less expected. I don't think either has a chance at the Final Qualification regatta but it would be a good experience for them. Both teams are very young and should be aiming for Paris 2024.

 

Our LW2X came 5th in their semifinal, very disappointing but also they were in a very tough semi. The other one was weaker. I think tomorrow's Final B will be a big test for them. If they can finish 1st or 2nd then I believe they still have a chance to make it to Tokyo. The problem is Fitsiou. If Nikolaidou can get healthy within the next month (I don't know what her current condition is, but she said in a few weeks ago that she is still injured but hoping to make it to Tokyo), then Anastasiadou/Nikolaidou could be an amazing team.

 

Anneta Kyridou was 4th in W1X and didn't make it to Final A. Pretty disappointing but I'm not surprised. She has had a very long week. Dominated her heat at the European Qualifying regatta, then fell into the water in the final, then had to come back in less than 24 hours to compete in an extremely difficult heat, then had to race again on the same day in the repechage where she finished 1st. She probably could've won a medal here again if she didn't compete at the European Qualifying regatta too. She's clearly tired both physically and mentally.

 

Lastly, Ntouskos was 3rd in his semi in M1X which is good but he is starting to look tired. It's understandable though. He raced on Monday, then twice on Thursday, then again on Friday and again on Saturday and now will race in Sunday's Final A. I hope he can sneak a medal but I fear that fatigue will play a role. He seems to be in great shape otherwise.

 

 

Also we still have our women's pair in the final, they won bronze last year as 19 year olds. I hope they can win another medal this year. I think they have a good chance!

[Makedonas 2,239]

So our women's lightweight double finished second in Final B which is okay. Six months ago at the last European Championships they were 9th, so now they moved up to 8th. Really they were probably 6th or 7th best but had a very difficult draw, plus they were tired after having to compete in the European qualifying regatta. I think they still have some chance for Tokyo based on their showing here.

 

The biggest disappointment for us is Anneta Kyridou, finishing 9th in the women's single sculls after winning bronze here last year as a 21 year old. That being said, she faced a lot of challenges this week that were unprecedented so mentally it must have been tough for her. Plus she was in the European qualifying regatta too, so she had 6 races in 6 days, with 5 being in the last 4 days. That's a lot so she has an excuse for her mediocre performance. I hope she can make it to Tokyo because she deserves it more than anyone else.

 

Our men's lightweight double sculls finished 11th and our men's pair finished 12th. It looks like neither team has a chance for Tokyo at this point, but both are very young. Zisis Boukouvalas who was in our men's pair is still just 18 years old!

 

 

Now we wait to see what will happen with our crews in Final A. Both definitely have chances for medals, I just fear that Ntouskos will be too tired from the European qualifying regatta. Like Kyridou, this will be his 6th race in 6 days, and 5th in the last 4 days.

[Makedonas 2,239]

Actually I think this is the first time ever that Anneta Kyridou competed in single sculls without winning a medal.

 

The other three times she competed in this event were 2019 European U23 (gold), 2020 European U23 (gold) and 2020 European (bronze)

[dcro 10,210]

Nice 5th place for Jurković sisters. Really hope they can make it in Lucerne.

[Vektor 3,326]

Two gold medals for us... in non-Olympic events.  Maybe one day we will win a medal in an Olympic rowing event. 

[Jinzha 702]

First gold for  in the women's four!

 

With  Ireland close behind and  GB in 3rd.

[Werloc 3,191]

Wow, what a day 

 

Karalienė's first competition after coming out of retirement of three years and Valčiukaitė recovering after injuries, but they still got the silver medal in the women's double sculls