Racing for the 2023 World Championships begins on Sunday, September 3, in Belgrade, Serbia. Below, we preview the women's lightweight double sculls event.
ENTRIES - 21
2020 Olympic Champion – Italy
2022 World Champion – Great Britain
RACICE 2022 RECAP
The British double of Emily Craig and Imogen Grant started fast, and had over a one second lead on the field through 500m with France and Ireland level for second. The American double of Molly Reckford and Michelle Sechser moved into second place by the 1000, but still trailed the British by open water. At the finish, Great Britain held on to their open water lead over the USA, with Ireland sprinting through France to claim the bronze medal.
Watch the final from Racice here.
2023 SEASON RECAP
Craig and Grant, the reigning world champions have so far been the class of 2023, winning all three of their starts this summer, Europeans, World Cup II, and World Cup III. The closest crew to GB so far has been the USA double of Reckford and Sechser, coming within 0.1 seconds in Varese, but the Americans will be racing a new lineup in Belgrade, as we will discuss below.
Greece, France, and Romania have also medaled in 2023, with Greece winning silver at Europeans, and bronze at World Cup III. France won bronze at World Cup II and finished fourth in Lucerne, while Romania took the bronze. Ireland, the bronze medalists from 2022, have also raced well, making two A Finals.
USA PROSPECTS
The Americans boat a new lineup for Belgrade, with Mary Jones Nabel replacing Molly Reckford in bow following the second selection camp in June. Sechser has been a stalwart of the event recently, finishing fifth in Tokyo and second in Racice, both with Reckford. Jones Nabel raced in the LW1x last year, winning two World Cup golds in the event. She has experience in the double as well, earning silver in the event at Plovdiv in 2018. How quickly this new lineup gels will be critical as only the top 7 finishers in Belgrade will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
MEDAL PICKS
Great Britain are the favorites once again, and the new American combination will be the wild card with multiple crews challenging for the other two medal positions. USA, France, Ireland, Greece, Romania are the likeliest contenders, but don't count out Canada, Switzerland, Italy, and New Zealand. The race for the one qualification spot from the B Final should be epic.
GOLD – GREAT BRITAIN
SILVER – FRANCE
BRONZE - UNITED STATES
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