Racing for the 2023 World Championships begins on Sunday, September 3, in Belgrade, Serbia. Below, we preview the non-Olympic Lightweight events.
We will preview the two remaining Olympic Lightweight Events, the Light Doubles, in separate features.
The USA did not send a crew in the Light Men's Pair or the Light Women's Quad, the latter of which will not be contested at this World Championship, due to lack of entries.
Lightweight Women's Single Sculls
ENTRIES - 15
2022 World Champion - Ionela Cozmiuc, Romania
2023 World Cup Winners - Kristyna Neuhortova (CZE), Aurelie Morizot (FRA), Sophia Luwis (USA)
2023 Euro Winner - Ionela Cozmiuc, Romania
2023 SEASON RECAP
With Romania's Ionela Cozmiuc moving back into the Light Double after winning the light single last year and at Euros, and World Cup 1 winner Kristyna Neuhortova of Czechia not entered, the other two World Cup winners, France's Aurelie Morizot and USA's Sophia Luwis, figure to be in the battle for the top spot. They will have to contend with 2022 silver medalist Martine Veldhuis of the Netherlands, who is back in the LW1x for the first time this season after racing open weight in the quad and single for the Dutch so far this year. Britain's Olivia Bates could challenge for the podium as well: Bates was close behind Luwis in Varese and took third again in Lucerne. Sneaking in ahead of her for the silver at World Cup 3 was Siobhan McCrohan of Ireland, who will likewise look to be in the mix.
USA PROSPECTS
Sophia Luwis, who missed her international debut in Racice last year due to a car accident just before the team left for Europe, raced a full 2023 season abroad in her return from injury: two World Cups, for silver and then gold, plus Henley Royal Regatta in the open single. In her WCII final against the Frenchwoman Morizot, Luwis was just under four seconds back on rough water in Varese, but she won over McCrohan and Bates by 4 and 8 seconds, respectively, in Lucerne.
Lightweight Men's Single Sculls
ENTRIES - 16
2022 World Champion - Gabriel Soares, Italy
2023 World Cup Winners - Rajko Hrvat (SLO), Niels Torre (ITA), Andri Struzina (SUI)
2023 Euro Winner - Hugo Beurey, France
2023 SEASON RECAP
In true lightweight fashion, this event saw three different winners at each World Cup, and all three are entered for Belgrade. With the 2022 World Champ, Gabriel Soares, now in the Italian Light Double and the Euro Champ Hugo Beurey back in the French Light Double, the field should be open for one of the World Cup winners to take the title. Switzerland's Andri Struzina is the most experienced this season: he took bronze at Euros and then won two World Cup silvers before taking gold at World Cup 3, but Italy's Niels Torre beat him at Varese for gold and at Euros for silver behind Beurey. Torre comes out of the Italian Light Quad that won in 2022; that was Torre's first senior team season after finishing as a U23 in 2021, so he is a young athlete to watch. Only two athletes from last year's A Final return: SUI's Struzina, who took 6th last year, and Rajko Hrvat of Slovenia, who opened the season with a win at World Cup 1 and was just off the podium at Euros on home waters in Bled.
USA PROSPECTS
Sam Melvin, the 2019 U23 champion in this event, makes his Senior Team debut in Belgrade. This will be his first international race at this level, but he won the US Trials ahead of two-time Senior Team member and NSR winner Jasper Liu and he told row2k after Trials that he feels like he is back on the form that helped him win his U23 gold.
Lightweight Women's Pair
ENTRIES - 3
2022 World Champion - Italy
Event not held at 2023 World Cups or Euros
2023 SEASON RECAP
While this event has not been held at the senior level this year, the Italian entry, Serena Mossi and Elisa Grisoni, won the gold medal at U23s last month in Plovdiv. This is an entirely new crew for Italy, but they will seek to defend the championship won last year by Maria Zerboni and Samantha Premerl (who also won U23 gold in Plovdiv, as it happens, in the Light Women's Quad). The other crew in this three boat event is Germany, who returns one athlete--Eva Hohoff--from the pair which took third behind the USA last year.
USA PROSPECTS
Both Solveig Imsdahl and Elaine Tierney, last year's silver medalists in the event, return and will be racing at their second consecutive Senior Worlds in Belgrade. With just three crews entered, there will be a preliminary "race for lanes" and then a straight final for the medals.
Lightweight Men's Quadruple Sculls
ENTRIES - 3
2022 World Champion - Italy
2023 World Cup - Italy
Event not held at 2023 Euros
2023 SEASON RECAP
Italy, the 2022 champions, won the Varese World Cup with an entirely new lineup, over a German quad which returned three rowers from the crew that took third in Racice. Varese the was only World Cup race in this boat class this year, and it was a three boat final. The Dutch who took third there are not entered for Belgrade, so it will just be the Italians and Germans against the USA, both of which will race with one substitution from their WC2 boatings.
USA PROSPECTS
The US is also a new lineup this year: only Ian Richardson returns from the crew that took 5th last year. The crew does have additional senior international experience in strokeman Jamie Copus, a dual citizen who has raced internationally for Great Britain and who made the B final in the Light Single for the US at the Lucerne World Cup this year. Casey Howshall raced the U23 Light Quad twice in 2016 and 2017, and Bernard Aparicio will make his international debut this year. This event also has just three crews entered, so there will be a preliminary "race for lanes" and then a straight final for the medals.
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