Racing for the 2019 World Championships begins on Sunday, August 25, in Linz, Austria. Below, we preview the women's double and qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Regatta.
ENTRIES - 22
2018 WORLD CHAMPION – Valciukaite/Adomaviciute - LTU
2016 OLYMPIC CHAMPION – Fularczyk-Kozlowska/Madaj - POL
2020 OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION SPOTS – Top 11
PLOVDIV 2018 RECAP
The Lithuania double of Milda Valciukaite and Ieva Adomaviciute defeated the 2017 champions from New Zealand, Brooke Donoghue and Oliva Loe, by just over two seconds. The win was the second title in the event for Valciukaite, who won in 2013, and the first for Adomaviciute. Meghan O'Leary and Ellen Tomek of the USA won the bronze over Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Canada. Watch the final here.
2019 SEASON RECAP
The Kiwis returned in 2019 with the lineup of Donoghue and Loe, and won both races they entered; World Cup II and the Stonor Challenge Trophy at Henley Royal Regatta.
The winning crew from World Cup III were the young Romanian double of Nicoleta Bodnar and Simona Radis, who also the raced to second place at the European Championships. Australia has also shown speed in 2019. The lineup of Amanda Bateman and Genevieve Horton took the silver at World Cup III and the bronze at World Cup II.
Canada returns its double of Gabrielle Smith and Andrea Proske from the 2018 crew that finished sixth in Plovdiv, then won the bronze this year at World Cup III. China, Italy, Belarus, and the Czech Republic have also made finals in 2019, and should compete for a spot in the final in Linz, while the Greeks double of Dimitra Tsamopoulou and Anneta Kyridou are the current U23 world champions.
USA PROSPECTS
In what was a bit of a surprise at USA Trials in May, Cicely Madden and Gevvie Stone of Cambridge Boat Club knocked off the six-time, and current world bronze medalist USA double of O'Leary and Tomek. Stone is no stranger to the senior team however, racing in the women's single five times including a silver medal performance at the Rio Olympics. Madden will be competing in her first senior world championships after racing in two junior and two U23 regattas previously. Madden and Stone raced at World Cup II in Poznan and nearly won, losing to New Zealand by less than 0.3 seconds after leading much of the race. USA should be in the mix to make the final and secure one of the eleven qualification spots for Tokyo.
MEDAL PICKS
No clear favorite emerged in 2019, so the women's double should be a highly competitive field. Lithuania won last year but has only made one final so far this year, taking fifth at the European Championships, so they are still a bit of a mystery. New Zealand are the only boat that hasn't lost yet, but have not won by overwhelming margins. Then Australia, USA, and Romania have all shown medal speed so the final will be intense.
GOLD – NEW ZEALAND
SILVER – LITHUANIA
BRONZE – UNITED STATES
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08/17/2019 4:15:25 PM