The 2021 European Championships in Varese, Italy (run on a tight turnaround from the '20 Europeans, which took place with COVID-diminished attendance in Poznan, Poland last October) had the feel of an early-season World Cup regatta, but as most rowing observers know, pre-Olympic racing tends towards higher stakes and more urgency as teams and crews look to get their competitive years off on a strong footing.
The racing in Varese did not disappoint, and from a competitive standpoint viewers could get a strong sense of teams that were moving, teams that were getting there, and teams that seemed to be standing still.
GB Crews Emerge from Lockdown Hot
Great Britain's struggle with COVID as a nation has been well-documented, but even training in isolation and out of team boats seems not to have put the GB rowing program off their game, as they emerged from a long period of lockdown and isolation (GB did not attend the 2020 European championships due to COVID restrictions) raring to go.
The GB topped the medals table at Varese with 12 medals overall, including five gold (Women's Pair, Men's Four, Men's Eight, PR2 Mix2x and PR3 Mix4+), and just generally looked to be in fine fettle (much to to the delight of the "neutral" FISA online commentary team, as some observers noted).
"We haven't raced at this level in 20 months so this was a good place to start," Graeme Thomas of the GB M2x told WorldRowing. "We came to learn, and work towards the next competition. We're excited for what's to come next."
Perhaps in contrast to a few teams that arrived in Varese with some rather chest-thumping ambitions, most notably the German M8+, the GB crews seemed to come down to the lake and simply get to work. "We never really want to give away what was our ambition," the GBs Moe Sbihi of the M8+ said to WorldRowing. "That was a good performance today, good enough to take gold."
Helen Glover, Supermom
Seriously, we have to talk about the GB's Helen Glover. Glover, who won Olympic gold in 2012 and 2016 in the Women's Pair, retired after Rio, got married, and has given birth to three kids since 2018, including twins born in January 2020. She got back in the boat late in 2020 and proceeded to row as if she had never left, winning the Women's Pair in Varese this weekend alongside Polly Swann.
Glover's comeback has received good attention in the rowing-personality focused UK press, but in this case, you can't argue that the attention was not warranted. Glover's attention to detail, and her journey back to fitness and racing shape has been fairly well chronicled, but it's still pretty inspirational.
Logie bear, little Kit, my Bo. This is for you ??. #EuropeanChampions pic.twitter.com/GXPm9aU9Fi
— Helen Glover (@Helenglovergb) April 11, 2021
Glover's new partner, Polly Swann, seems to agree. "It's been a long winter but just to come out with Helen to race feels pretty epic," Swann told WorldRowing. "I don't think we expected to win."
Glover is aiming to become the first female GB rower to race at the Olympics after becoming a "mum," and on the evidence of this weekend's racing, she seems well on her way.
A Few New Faces
In addition to the perennial strong competitors and known quantities, a few new faces and crews made their presences felt right away at the top level, which will keep things interesting going into the Olympics.
Notes from the Course
Comments | Log in to comment |
row2k's Olympics coverage is brought to you by:
row2k's Olympics coverage is brought to you by:
04/13/2021 2:13:16 PM
04/13/2021 6:20:52 PM