Australian Rowing Team Sets Sights on World Rowing Cup III in Poznan

By Nick Jones with the Australian Rowing Team in Europe

The Australian Rowing Team (ART) is ready for the upcoming World Rowing Cup III in Poland, fielding the largest squad in attendance as athletes take advantage of their final chance to race before the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Sixteen crews will wear the green and gold in Poznan, with the ART’s High Performance team making some adjustments to the big boats to ensure the combinations are firing six weeks out from Paris. 

Paul Thompson MBE, Rowing Australia’s Performance Director, said he was happy with the ‘solid start’ at World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne and looked forward to some progression in Poznan. 

"Luzern was a solid start for the team. The three women’s medals and Erik Horrie’s Silver were great, and all our key boats were in the A Final medal races,” Thompson said. 

“The squad has settled well in Europe, has improved and are looking forward to the hit out in Poznan."

“All our crews are ready and looking forward to racing here. In fact, the women’s Pairs and Four are forming a second Eight to race.” 

It is also the first international hit out for the 2023 World Champion PR3 Mixed Double Scull of Jed Altschwager and Nikki Ayers. They went through 2023 without a defeat to their name and were crowned as World Rowing’s Para Crew of the Year. 

Meanwhile, an injury has interrupted the racing preparation of the AUS 1 Men’s Coxless Pair of Simon Keenan and Patrick Holt. The Pair have been medically withdrawn due to Keenan’s back injury.  

“The medical team checked him out today, and he's just not quite ready to go. We are confident that Simon will be back to full fitness soon,” Thompson said.  

The AUS 2 Men’s Coxless Pair will now feature Holt and Rohan Lavery. This shift opens up an exciting opportunity for Jackson Kench, who will represent Australia in the Men’s Single Scull. 

WHAT’S UP FOR AUSTRALIA – World Cup III Day 1: Friday 

9.10AM (5.10PM AEST) – PR1 Men’s Single Scull Preliminary Race: Erik Horrie – All to the A-Final.  

9.30AM (5.30PM AEST) – PR3 Mixed Double Scull Heat 1: Nikki Ayers, Jed Altschwager – First to the A-Final. The rest to the repechage.  

10.12AM (6.12PM AEST) – Women’s Pair Heat 1: (AUS 2) Eliza Gaffney, Samantha Morton – First to the A-Final. The rest to the Repechage. 

10.17AM (6.17PM AEST) – Women’s Pair Heat 2: (AUS 1) Jessica Morrison OAM, Annabelle McIntyre OAM – First to the A-Final. The rest to the Repechage. 

10.27AM (6.27PM AEST) – Men’s Pair Heat 2: (AUS 2) Rohan Lavery, Patrick Holt – First to the A-Final. The rest to the Repechage.  

10.32AM (6.32PM AEST) – Women’s Double Scull Heat 1: Amanda Bateman, Harriet Hudson – First to the A-Final. The rest to the Repechage. 

10.52AM (6.52PM AEST) – Men’s Double Scull Heat 3: David Bartholot, Marcus Della Marta – First three to the A/B Semi-Final. The rest to the Repechage.  

11.15AM (7.15PM AEST) – Women’s Four Heat 2: Olympia Aldersey, Jean Mitchell, Lily Alton Triggs, Molly Goodman – First to the A-Final. The rest to the repechage. 

 11.20AM (7.20PM AEST) – Men’s Four Heat 1: Tim Masters, Jack Robertson, Fergus Hamilton, Alex Hill OAM – First to the A Final. The rest to the repechage. 

11.30AM (7.30PM AEST) – Women’s Single Scull Heat 1: (AUS 1) Tara Rigney – First two to the A/B Semi-Final. The rest to the repechage. 

11:35AM (7.35PM AEST) – Women’s Single Scull Heat 2: (AUS 2) Kathryn Rowan – First two to the A/B Semi-Final. The rest to the repechage. 

11:50AM (7:50PM AEST) – Men’s Single Scull Heat 2: Jackson Kench – First to the A/B Semi-Final. The rest to the repechage.  

12.22PM (8.22PM AEST) – Women’s Quad Scull Preliminary Race: Ria Thompson, Laura Gourley, Rowena Meredith, Caitlin Cronin – All to the A-Final.  

3.48PM (11.48PM AEST) – Women’s Coxed Eight Preliminary Race: (AUS 1) Paige Barr, Bronwyn Cox, Georgina Rowe, Katrina Werry, Jacqueline Swick, Giorgia Patten, Sarah Hawe, Lucy Stephen OAM, Hayley Verbunt (coxswain) – All to the A-Final. 

3:53PM (11:53PM AEST) – Men’s Coxed Eight Preliminary Race: Benjamin Canham, Joshua Hicks, Spencer Turrin OAM, Angus Widdicombe, Jack Hargreaves OAM, Alexander Purnell OAM, Angus Dawson, Jack O’Brien, Kendall Brodie (coxswain) – All to the Final. 

How to follow World Rowing Cup III:  

The first races will start June 14 at 9:00 CET. The international medal races start on Saturday, June 15 at 14:17, and the World Rowing Cup medal races start on Sunday, June 16, at 8:35am. 

Here is how to follow the event on mobile, tablet, or desktop: 

1. The time table for the events can be found here, and entries for all the races are available here. 

1. Live race tracker and LIVE audio will be available for ALL races on www.worldrowing.com. 

1. LIVE video streaming will be available on the World Rowing website on Sunday, June 16 from 8:30 CET for the World Rowing Cup A-Finals. The video streaming will start 5 minutes before the first race. 

Rowing Australia will be providing live updates, daily wraps and previews throughout the regatta. To stay in the loop, follow us on our platforms: 

Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gVz6Nh8Z 
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/gMXfBU5Y 
Twitter (X): https://x.com/RowingAust 
TikTok: https://lnkd.in/gXJfmMbR