Racing for the 2020 Olympic Regatta begins on Friday, July 23, in Tokyo, Japan. Below, we preview the women's single.
2019 WORLD CHAMPION - Sanita Puspure - IRL
2016 OLYMPIC CHAMPION - Kim Brennan - AUS
2020 SCHEDULE
Heats on Friday, Reps on Saturday, Quarters on Monday, Semis on Wednesday, Finals on Friday
ENTRIES - 32
AUSTRIA - Magdalena Lobnig
BELARUS - Tatsiana Klimovich
CANADA - Carling Zeeman
CHINA - Yan Jiang
CHINESE TAIPEI - Yi-Ting Huang
CUBA - Milena Venega
GREAT BRITAIN - Victoria Thornley
GREECE - Anneta Kyridou
HONG KONG - Winne Hung
IRAN - Nazanin Malaei
IRELAND - Sanita Puspure
MEXICO - Kenia Lechuga
MOROCCO - Sarah Fraincart
NAMIBIA - Maike Diekmann
NETHERLANDS - Sophie Souwer
NEW ZEALAND - Emma Twigg
NICARAGUA - Evidelia Gonzalez
NIGERIA - Esther Toko
PARAGUAY - Alejandra Alonso
PUERTO RICO - Veronica Toro
QATAR - Tala Abujbara
RUSSIA - Hanna Prakatsen
SERBIA - Jovana Arsic
SINGAPORE - Joan Poh
SOUTH KOREA - Hyejeong Jeong
SUDAN - Esraa Khogali
SWEDEN - Lovisa Claesson
SWITZERLAND - Jeanine Gmelin
TOGO - Akossiwa Ayivon
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Aisha Chow
UGANDA - Kathleen Noble
UNITED STATES - Kara Kohler
LINZ 2019 RECAP
In the A Final in Linz, Victoria Thornley of Great Britain and Emma Twigg of New Zealand got out to fast starts, with Twigg leading the field by a length at the 500. In the second quarter of the race, Sanita Puspure of Ireland and Kara Kohler of the United States moved through Thornley, with Twigg still leading the field by just over one length. Twigg held onto the lead through 1500, but Puspure put in a massive push in the final quarter to win by open water and repeat as world champion. Twigg held on for silver, with Kohler taking the bronze.
Watch the final here.
2021 SEASON RECAP
WORLD CUP I
Of the scullers qualified for Toyko, Austrian Magdalena Lobnig won the gold handily over Jovana Arsic of Serbia and Lovisa Claesson of Sweden.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Russian Hanna Prakatsen, the break out sculler of 2021, won the European Championship by open water over Victoria Thornley of Great Britain and Jeanine Gmelin of Switzerland. Prakatsen won the event after winning the European Olympic Qualification Regatta the week before.
FOQR
The two qualification spots for Tokyo were won by Anneta Kyridou of Greece and Tatsiana Klimovich of Belarus.
WORLD CUP II
Hanna Prakatsen of Russia followed up her European Championship with a stunning win in Lucerne. Prakatsen bested the best field of 2021, defeating American Kara Kohler, reigning singles champion Sanita Puspure of Ireland, and Magdalena Lobnig of Austria.
WORLD CUP III
Gold went to Diana Dymchenko of Ukraine, however only three of the A Finalist will be racing in Tokyo. Sophie Souwer of The Netherlands finished 2nd, Lovisa Claesson of Sweden finished fifth, and Maike Diekmann of Namibia finished sixth.
USA PROSPECTS
Kara Kohler has been climbing the ranks of the women's single, finishing fourth in 2018 and third in 2019. The Olympic bronze medalist from the 2012 USA W4x will be a strong contender for a podium finish in Tokyo, but a deep and talented field will be waiting and ready.
MEDAL PICKS
This event is loaded with proven talent, unknown challengers, and wildcards, but there is no obvious favorite. On paper, Russian sculler Prakatsen has dominated 2021, but will she be able to peak again after just qualifying for the Games in April. Emma Twigg is proven and the reigning silver medalist, but will have not raced in nearly 700 days when she lines up in Tokyo. Those two, plus Puspure and Kohler will be the most likely to make the podium, but expect Lobnig, Thornley, Gmelin, Carling Zeeman of Canada, and Jiang of China to be in the A Final mix.
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