Racing for the 2020 Olympic Regatta begins on Friday, July 23, in Tokyo, Japan. Below, we preview the women's pair.
2019 WORLD CHAMPION - Prendergast/Gowler - NZL
2016 OLYMPIC CHAMPION - Glover/Stanning - GBR
2020 SCHEDULE
Heats on Saturday, Rep on Sunday, Semis on Tuesday, Finals on Thursday
ENTRIES - 13
AUSTRALIA - Annabelle McIntyre | Jessica Morrison
CANADA - Caileigh Filmer | Hillary Janssens
CHINA - Kaifeng Huang | Xiaoxin Liu
DENMARK - Fie Udby Erichsen | Hedvig Rasmussen
GREAT BRITAIN - Helen Glover | Polly Swann
GREECE - Christina Bourmpou | Maria Kyridou
ITALY - Kiri Tontodonati | Aisha Rocek
IRELAND - Aileen Crowley | Monika Dukarska
NEW ZEALAND - Grace Prendergast | Kerri Gowler
ROMANIA - Adriana Ailincai | Iuliana Buhus
RUSSIA - Vasilisa Stepanova | Elena Oriabinskaia
SPAIN - Aina Cid | Virginia Diaz
UNITED STATES - Megan Kalmoe | Tracy Eisser
LINZ 2019 RECAP
Australia and New Zealand got out quickly, with USA and Canada trailing, with about a deck difference between each crew at the 500. Coming into the thousand, Australia and New Zealand had separated from the pack with Australia still holding a deck length lead on the Kiwis with Canada holding a slight edge on the Americans. New Zealand drew level at about 1600 meters, but Australia started their sprint early and took back the lead. The Kiwi sprint was too much though, and they moved through Australia in the last 200 meters to win. Canada took the bronze over USA, with Spain in 5th and Italy in 6th. The New Zealand, Australian, and Canadian pairs were all doubling up into their respective eights at the regatta, and all six A finalists return their crews intact for Tokyo.
Watch the final here.
2021 SEASON RECAP
WORLD CUP I
Three pairs raced, with Croatia taking gold, Czech taking silver, and France bronze, however none of those crews are qualified for Tokyo.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Five of the finalist crews from European Championships will be racing in Tokyo, with Great Britain defeating Romania, Spain, and Greece for the gold. It was the first international race for Great Britain's Helen Glover following her retirement in 2016 and reunited Glover with Polly Swann, the world champion women's pair from 2013.
FOQR
The two qualification spots for Tokyo were won by Russia and Denmark.
WORLD CUP II
Spain dominated the second half of the race en route to a four second victory over Ireland and Romania.
WORLD CUP III
Two crews qualified for Tokyo raced in Sabaudia, with Denmark winning and Italy finishing sixth. The Danish pair has a wealth of experience with Fie Udby Erichsen winning silver in the W1x in London, and Hedvig Rasmussen winning bronze in the W2- in Rio.
USA PROSPECTS
The USA pair of Megan Kalmoe and Tracy Eisser have long history together, winning gold in the W4x in 2015, finishing fifth in the W4x in 2016, second in W2- in 2017, and fourth in W2- in 2019. The pair won trials last month and will take all that experience with them to the start line in Tokyo.
MEDAL PICKS
The women's pair could be the most loaded field, and most difficult event to predict for the entire regatta. All six finalists from 2019 return intact, with both New Zealand and Australia doubling up in other events. Then, the top four finishers (NZL, AUS, CAN, USA) in Linz have not raced since then, almost two years ago so there is a lot unknown. On the European side, Great Britain, Spain, Romania, Denmark, Ireland, and Russia have all shown good speed in 2021 so predicting which crews will make the podium, let alone the final, is near impossible. Should be fun to watch to though!
Comments | Log in to comment |
There are no Comments yet
|
row2k's Olympics coverage is brought to you by:
row2k's Olympics coverage is brought to you by: