Australia has shown its impressive depth after the Under 23 Rowing Team finished seventh at the 2024 World Rowing Under 23 Championships (Mega Worlds) in St. Catharines, Canada.
The U23 team entered nine boats into the regatta and all nine competed in A Finals. Five of those crews came away with medals; Women’s Lightweight Single Sculls (Gold), Men’s Four (Silver), Men’s Double Sculls (Silver), Men’s Eight (Bronze), and the Women’s Four (Bronze).
Mega Worlds is the culmination of Under 19, Under 23 and Senior World Championships collated into the one regatta.
Rowing Australia Head of Pathways Jason Lane said the exposure to racing on the world stage was a huge step in the development of the next generation of aspiring Rowsellas.
“The Under 23 teams raced with maturity and tenacity throughout the week of racing,” Lane said.
“This was evident by the number of crews that won races over the course of the regatta.
“These achievements are a great stepping stone for the athletes to progress onto the Rowsellas team.”
2024 World Rowing Under 23 Championships: The Breakdown
Women’s Lightweight Single Sculls – Gold
For Grace Sypher it was a redemption-themed regatta.
After coming fourth in the 2023 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Sypher was determined to come into this year’s regatta with one goal in mind: the Gold medal.
And that’s exactly what she did, leading from start to finish to top the podium.
“We [coach Lachlan Carter] really sat down together and thought, you know, we can work harder than ever and we can achieve it. To come up on top this year, it’s an absolute dream,” Sypher said.
RESULTS: AUS, ITA, GER, POR, RSA, FRA
Men’s Four – Silver
It was déjà vu for the Men’s Four of Nikolas Pender, Austin Reinehr, Jarrod Lord and Mitch Salisbury as they finished second behind Great Britain to claim the Silver Medal.
Pender and Reinehr were a part of the 2023 Under 23 Men’s Four that also came second to the formidable rowing program of GBR.
It was a solid performance with both crews pushing each other to the last stroke, with the Australians finishing 1.60s behind Team GB.
RESULTS: GBR, AUS, NZL, FRA, ITA, ROU
Men’s Double Sculls – Silver
Dominic Frederico and Nicholas Blackman finished the regatta with the Silver Medal in the Men’s Double Sculls.
A fast-starting Polish Double set the pace but the Aussies were hot on their heels for the entire 2000m and stayed there until they crossed the line in second place.
RESULTS: POL, AUS, IRL, CRO, ITA, LTU
Men’s Eight – Bronze
Rowing Australia’s first US College-based Men’s Eight performed exceptionally well to claim the Bronze in a highly competitive field.
The crew of James Frederikson, Henry Furrer, Jeremy Beale, Alexander Baroni, Harry Manton, Andrew Weightman, Edward Nutt, Benjamin Scott, and Jonathon Cooke (c) rowed across the 500m mark in third and were able to hold that position to the very end.
RESULTS: GBR, USA, AUS, CAN, ROU, GER
Women's Four - Bronze
After being down for the first 1000m of the A Final, the Women's Four of Caitlin McManus-Barrett, Rebecca Pretorius, Genevieve Hart and Isabella Scammell had a blistering last half to move past the crew from France.
The four will return home with the bronze medal.
RESULTS: GBR, NZL, AUS, FRA, SUI, AUT
Women’s Eight – Fourth
Like the Men’s Eight, this was the first Under 23 Women’s Eight selected from the US College program.
In their Heat, the crew of Harriet Wallace, Star Miller, Lucy Searle, Sarah Abrams, Sophie Ward, Sarah Marriott, Zara Collisson, Katherine Easton, and Summer Kellett (c) crossed the line in the exact time as the USA (6:01.73).
After thorough review it was determined that the USA crew finished 0.001s in front of the Australians, meaning the green and gold Eight had to go again in the repechage before finishing fourth in the A-Final.
RESULTS: GBR, USA, GER, AUS, ROU, ITA
Men’s Coxed Four – Fourth
The Men’s Coxed Four of Miles Harrold, Alec Hoskin, Darcy Watter, Bradley Graham, and Teresa Harris (f) (c) battled it out with the French in both their races, with Australia finishing just ahead in the Preliminary race.
In the final, the Aussie crew settled into a solid rhythm early on but a late push from the French clipped them of the Bronze medal.
RESULTS: USA, ITA, FRA, AUS, GER
Women’s Quad Sculls – Fifth
The Women’s Quad Sculls of Liesel Page, Sophie Malcolm, Sarah Fahd, and Eliza Bridgefoot put a strong performance down in their A-Final from Lane 2.
The crew from Romania led from start-to-finish with an impressive time of 6:15.97. The Australian crew gave their all to the end to cross the line in a time of 6:24.38.
RESULTS: ROU, POL, GBR, GER, AUS, ITA
Women’s Double Sculls – Sixth
The Duncan Free OAM coached crew of Danica Free and Romy Cantwell competed in an incredibly tough field to finish in sixth place overall in a time of 7:00.83.
RESULTS: ROU, SUI, LTU, FRA, GER, AUS
2024 World Rowing Under 23 Championship Australian Medal Tally
Gold – One
Silver – Two
Bronze – Two
Images: Vera Bucsu