By Nick Jones with the Australian Rowing Team in Europe
The Australian Rowing Team (ART) has finished on top of the medal tally at World Rowing Cup III in Poznan, Poland, claiming 11 medals out of 13 events, including six Gold.
The ART had 12 boats racing for medals on Sunday across 13 events. Six of those finished on top of the podium; The Men’s Eight, Women’s Eight (1), Women’s Pair, Women’s Double Scull, PR3 Mixed Double Scull and the Women’s Single Scull.
The Women’s and Men’s Four collected Silver, as did the second Women’s Eight crew, while Bronze went to Erik Horrie in the the PR1 Men’s Single Scull and the Women’s Quad Scull.
World Rowing Cup III was the last international regatta before the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and the ART left no stone un-turned as they unfurled one of the best World Cup results in its history.
“It was a great team result. We know the competition will be deeper in Paris, however, there have been improvements across all the boats since the Luzern World Cup,” Performance Director Paul Thompson said.
“For me the important thing wasn't what they did but how they did it, racing with maturity and rhythm.
“The team is building momentum, and we now go back to the AIS's European Training Centre in Italy to prepare for the Games while the Para rowers fly back to Australia for their next step towards Paris.”
World Rowing Cup III: The Breakdown
Men’s Eight – Gold
The Men’s Eight of Benjamin Canham, Joshua Hicks, Spencer Turrin OAM, Angus Widdicombe, Jack Hargreaves OAM, Alexander Purnell OAM, Angus Dawson, Jack O’Brien and Kendall Brodie (coxswain) rounded off a spectacular day for Australia, leading from start-to-finish.
"We'll keep progressing. We've got six weeks still, I don't think anyone racing now has yet peaked, so we'd like to think that we'll get better in six weeks' time. But it was a good step, that's for sure," Widdicombe said.
RESULT: AUS, GER, UKR1, ROU, UKR2
WORLD ROWING CUP WINNERS: GBR
Women’s Single Scull - Gold
Tara Rigney won a commanding victory in the Women's Single Sculls to cap off a strong pre-Paris preparation. This was her first World Cup Gold Medal and a confidence-boosting triumph before the Olympics.
“I'm quite stoked to be winning the Gold. It was a good race. I was hoping for more lumpy conditions like yesterday to prep for Paris but Poznan turned it on and it was beautiful and flat,” Rigney said.
“I feel like I'm definitely in a good place. It's always hard; World Cup II, when we come off the plane, it takes a while to find your feet.
“But honestly, I'm just having so much fun with my coach [Ellen Randell] and my training squad of the Double [Amanda Bateman and Harriet Hudson] and Kate Rowan. I laugh every day, train hard… it's going really well.”
RESULT: AUS (1), GER1, SUI, USA1, AUT, POL
WORLD ROWING CUP WINNERS: NED
Women’s Eights – Gold and Silver
The AUS 1 crew of Paige Barr, Bronwyn Cox, Georgina Rowe, Katrina Werry, Jacqueline Swick, Giorgia Patten, Sarah Hawe, Lucy Stephen OAM and Hayley Verbunt (coxswain) went wire-to-wire to claim Gold.
And the AUS 2 crew of Eliza Gaffney, Jean Mitchell, Olympia Aldersey, Lily Alton Triggs, Samantha Morton, Annabelle McIntyre OAM, Jessica Morrison OAM, Molly Goodman and Hannah Cowap (coxswain) gave them an exciting run for their money as they closed the gap in the dying stages of the race to clinch the Silver Medal.
"We executed a good start. It's just bringing all the pieces together. We were lucky enough to have another Australian Eight, so we could have a bit more of a ding-dong battle at the end and really see how we perform under pressure,” Bronwyn Cox from the AUS 1 crew said.
“It’s just putting it all together and seeing how it goes.”
RESULT: AUS (1), AUS (2), NED, ROU
WORLD ROWING CUP WINNERS: AUS
PR3 Mixed Double Scull - Gold
The 2023 World Champions and current World Best Time holders, Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager, held their poise as they controlled the race from the start to claim Gold ahead of Great Britain (Silver) and Germany (Bronze). The Double hasn’t raced at an international regatta since the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade.
“It feels good. It's been nine, 10 months since we had a crack last year, and we knew in another 12 months everyone's going to move on,” Altschwager said.
“Racing's tighter but we're still feeling confident out there and we had fun.”
RESULT: AUS, GBR, GER, USA, FRA2, IND
Women’s Double Scull - Gold
Amanda Bateman and Harriet Hudson have gone strength-to-strength in this World Cup series. The duo claimed Gold by 0.29s, moving through the second-placed Norwegians in the dying stages of the race. The crew from France rounded off the podium by claiming the Bronze.
“We did a good job and it was definitely a step forward leading into the Games. It's always good to beat a European crew as an outsider, us and the Kiwis love taking down any European countries we can,” Bateman said.
RESULT: AUS, NOR, FRA1, ROU, NZL, GBR1
WORLD ROWING CUP WINNERS: NOR
Women’s Pair - Gold
Annabelle McIntryre OAM and Jessica Morrison OAM made it look easy, claiming the Gold in the Women’s Pair by seven seconds.
The Western Australian and Victorian combination had clear water by the 1000m and moved away from the rest of the pack. Silver went to Ireland, followed by Denmark for Bronze.
"We're really just practising trying to lead out a race, really get that start going. We've seen over the last couple of years all the boat classes getting faster and faster, so that's something we have to adapt to as well,” McIntyre said.
RESULT: AUS (1), IRL, DEN, NED, FRA1, FRA2
WORLD ROWING CUP WINNERS: NED
Women’s and Men’s Fours – Silver and Silver
Both the Men’s and Women’s Aussie Fours claimed Silver on Sunday behind Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand.
After coming sixth at World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne a few weeks ago, Silver was a step in the right direction for the crew of Olympia Aldersey, Jean Mitchell, Lily Alton Triggs and Molly Goodman.
RESULT: NZL, AUS, ROU1, DEN, GBR, FRA
WORLD ROWING CUP WINNERS: GBR
Timothy Masters, Jack Robertson, Fergus Hamilton and Alex Hill OAM nailed the first half of the race, however the crew from New Zealand were able to row through the Aussies to claim the Gold.
RESULT: NZL, AUS, GBR1, SUI, GBR2, GER
WORLD ROWING CUP WINNERS: GBR
Women’s Quad Scull – Bronze
After coming away with a sixth-place finish in Lucerne, the Women’s Quad came to Poznan with a medal in their sights. The crew of Ria Thompson, Laura Gourley, Rowena Meredith, Caitlin Cronin claimed the Bronze and will aim to keep the upwards momentum leading into Paris.
PR1 Men’s Single Scull - Bronze
Erik Horrie OAM came away with the Bronze medal on Sunday morning, behind Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard, followed by Giacomo Perini from Italy who claimed the Silver.
RESULT: GBR, ITA, AUS, GER, GBR (2), TUN
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - Fifth
In their international debut, the crew of Susannah Lutze, Alexandra Viney, Tobiah Goffsassen, Thomas Birtwhistle and Hannah Cowap (Coxswain) finished fifth in a tough and experienced field.
RESULT: GBR, USA, FRA, GER, AUS, ITA
Men’s Pair - Sixth
Rohan Lavery and Patrick Holt went right to the line to finish sixth. The Gold Medal went to the 2023 World Championship Swiss Pair, Silver to the Sinkovic Brothers from Croatia and Bronze to New Zealand.
RESULT: SUI, CRO, NZL1, NZL2, GBR2, AUS (2)
WORLD ROWING CUP WINNERS: SUI
B-Finals
The Men’s Double Scull of David Bartholot and Marcus Della Marta took the race at the 500m mark from the fast-starting crew from New Zealand. The duo took control of the race to cross the line first and place seventh overall.
The AUS (2) Women’s Pair of Eliza Gaffney and Samantha Morton fell just short of a spot in the A-Final after getting pipped at the line by the France 2 crew on Saturday.
The duo held their heads high and rowed with technical precision and ruthlessness to finish 22 seconds ahead of the Romanians in the B-Final.
Both Jackson Kench and Kathryn Rowan completed their World Rowing Cup III campaigns on Saturday, each racing in the C-Final in the Single Scull. Rowan finished 14th and Kench 16th.
World Rowing Cup III Australian Medal Tally
Gold – Six
Silver – Three
Bronze – Two
Total Medals - 11
WHAT’S NEXT FOR AUSTRALIA – From Poznan to Paris
June 17-29 – Women’s ART training camp in Gavirate, Italy
June 18-29 – Men’s ART training camp at ETC in Gavirate, Italy
June 30 – Olympic team announcement, Varese, Italy
July 1 – Paralympic Team Announcement, Canberra
July 21 – The ART travel from Gavirate, Italy to Paris for Olympics
August 6-24 August – Pre-Paralympic Camp in Gavirate, Italy