"VAN" (Sports Desk - 11.08.2025) :: After four days of fantastic racing in Trakai, the final day provided an incredible series of medal finals.
A total of fifteen nations claimed medals during the 12 finals, with Great Britain at the top of the table with an impressive four gold, two silver and one bronze. Greece took second place in the standings with two gold, one silver and one bronze whilst Germany claimed two gold and four bronze.
The first World Under 19 champion title was awarded to Romania as they successfully defended their title in the women’s pair. The men’s pair saw the first of the four golds for Great Britain when Patrick Wild and Alp Karadogan timed their race to perfection to overhaul Australia in the closing stages.
It looked like it might be another gold for the British when their women’s four led for the majority of the race before a final sprint from the USA secured them the Championship title. A strong British men’s four is a familiar sight and this Championships was no exception as the crew secured a comfortable gold ahead of Italy.
This year’s European U19 Champions in the women’s quad, Poland, became World Champions also today in a race that saw Czechia and Great Britain clock exactly the same time, Czechia being declared as silver medalists using the photo finish. The men’s quad was won by Germany, for the third consecutive year.
The women’s single sculls had been much anticipated. As the biggest boat class of the Championships, the competitors had gone through several rounds of racing to secure their place in the final. Whilst Spain’s Esther Fuerte Chacon held the lead for the first half of the race, the strength and experience of Greece’s Varvara Lykomitrou showed in the second half as she sculled through to the lead.
In the men’s single sculls, the German sculler, Mads Schmied became World U19 Champion for the second consecutive year, having won gold in the quad last year. He led his final from the start.
Great Britain’s other two golds came when they won both the women’s and men’s eights. In the women’s eight, they sat behind Australia for the first half of the race and made their move to the front in the second half whilst the men’s eight led from the start despite constant challenges from Czechia.
At the end of the Championships, the flag was handed over to representatives from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, who will host the next edition of the World Rowing Under 19 Championships, 5-9 August 2026.
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