Racing for the 2023 World Championships begins on Sunday, September 3, in Belgrade, Serbia. Below, we preview the women's pair event.
ENTRIES - 22
2020 Olympic Champion – New Zealand
2022 World Champion – New Zealand
RACICE 2022 RECAP
The British pair of Ford and Booth were the fastest pair through the first 500 meters, but were quickly surpassed by the Olympic champions from New Zealand, Prendergast and Williams. The Kiwis continued to move out on the field with the Dutch moving into second in the third 500 over the USA in third. Those three crews held those positions through to the finish, with Romania taking fourth.
Watch the final from Racice here.
2023 SEASON RECAP
The 2023 season has been notable for a couple of reasons. First, the retirement of the New Zealand pair of Prendergast and Williams, who have virtually unbeatable since 2017. Second, the return of the Australian duo of Morrison and McIntyre, who last raced the pair at the Tokyo Olympics. Australia won both World Cup II and III this summer by five seconds and will be the favorites heading into Belgrade.
Romania won gold at the European Championships and silver at World Cup III and are a top crew. The Dutch pair of Clevering and Meester return from their second place lineup from 2022 and raced to a silver medal at Euros in their only regatta this year. The Spanish pair of Briz and Cid has won multiple medals in 2023, gold at World Cup I, bronze at Europeans, and bronze at World Cup II. Then the American pair of Rusher and Musnicki won the silver medal at World Cup II in Varese, their one international appearance together.
USA PROSPECTS
2023 is the first season for the American pair of Alie Rusher and Meghan Musnicki, though both are experienced at the international level. Musnicki will be competing at her tenth Olympic or World Championship, having won two Olympic golds and five world championship golds as part of the USA W8+. Rusher will be making her second senior team appearance, having raced in the women's quad at the Tokyo Olympics. She also has multiple U23 team appearances, winning bronze in the W8+ in 2018. The pair should be in contention to make the A Final, with a top 11 finish needed to qualify the USA for the Paris Olympics.
MEDAL PICKS
The Australian pair are the clear favorites coming into the regatta, with multiple crews in contention for a podium finish. The Romanians, Dutch, and Spanish pairs likely have the best shot for a medal, but watch out for Greece, USA, Great Britain, and Ireland to be in the mix as well.
GOLD – AUSTRALIA
SILVER – NETHERLANDS
BRONZE - ROMANIA
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