Racing for the 2019 World Championships begins on Sunday, August 25, in Linz, Austria. Below, we preview the men's pair and qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Regatta.
ENTRIES - 29
2018 WORLD CHAMPION - Sinkovic/Sinkovic - CRO
2016 OLYMPIC CHAMPION - Murray/Bond - NZL
2020 OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION SPOTS - Top 11
PLOVDIV 2018 RECAP
Brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic led the men's pair final from the first stroke and held of a sprint from the Romanian pair of Marius Cozmiuc and Ciprian Tudosa to win their first world championships after switching to the pair from the double following their win at the Rio Olympics. The French brothers, Valentin and Theophile Onfroy, won the bronze with Canada, New Zealand, and Spain rounding out the final field. Watch the final here.
2019 SEASON RECAP
Australia has had the fastest pair in 2019, however they have moved those athletes into the four and eight so the current pair of Sam Hardy and Joshua Hicks is untested in the event. Hicks has been the Aussie four the last two years that has won the world championship.
Croatia has returned their gold medal crew again his year, and won the European Championship and finished second at World Cup I. However they withdrew from World Cup III for illness. Canada has a new look pair of Kai Langerfeld and Conlin McCabe, and in their only race of 2019 at World Cup II, won the bronze.
Last year's silver medalists from Romania have been in form in 2019 as well, taking second at Europeans and fifth at World Cup III. The Kiwi pair of Thomas Murray and Michael Brake finished fifth last year and medaled at both World Cup II and World Cup III.
Additional crews that have shown speed in this year have been the crews from Czech Republic, Spain, and Serbia.
USA PROSPECTS
The USTC - Oakland crew of Anders Weiss and Ezra Carlson won USRowing Trials V on August 7 and will represent USA as a crew for the first time in Linz. Weiss is a veteran of the pair having raced the event in 2016, 2017, and 2018, with his highest finish being eleventh in both Rio and Sarasota. Carlson makes his senior team debut, with his only other national team appearances being in the U23 M4+ in 2016 and the Junior M4x in 2012. With 29 entries going for 11 Olympic spots, qualification is going to be tough but possible if they can make it through the quarterfinals.
MEDAL PICKS
Croatia are the favorites but Italy appear to be in pursuit of their title. The Italian pair of Matteo Lodo and Giuseppe Vicino defeated Croatia with an epic sprint in the 2017 A Final, but hasn't raced that lineup since. They return to Linz and should be very competitive. Then Canada, New Zealand, Romania, and the Czech Republic could contend for the third medal.
GOLD - CROATIA
SILVER - ITALY
BRONZE - ROMANIA
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