"VAN" (Sports Desk - 01.06.2025) :: Romania finished the first day of finals at the 2025 European Rowing Championships in Plovdiv on top of the medal standings with three golds, two silver and one bronze medal, ahead of the Netherlands with two golds and one silver.
A light tailwind helped a number of best times to fall, with two World Best Times set in the para-rowing events and six more European Championship Best Times (EChBTs) established.
Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard had set a World Best Time in Friday’s heats of 8:47.88, but he lowered that to an impressive 8:40.38 on his way to his first European title on Saturday. Meanwhile Germany’s Kathrin Marchand and Valentin Luz became the first PR3 mixed double sculls crew to break seven minutes for a 2000m race, setting a World Best Time of 6:57.41 as they defeated defending champions Great Britain.
Anna Sheremet (Ukraine) won her first-ever European gold medal in the PR1 women’s single sculls, in an EChBT of 9:56.60.
Romania’s first gold medal came in the women’s pair, with their new combination of Maria Magdalena Rusu and Simona Radis flying to victory in an EChBT of 6:49.18. Their male counterparts Florin Lehaci and Florin Arteni then followed suit, winning in an EChBT of 6:11.57. Italy won silver in both events, with the Codato siblings Alice and Giovanni celebrating success.
Romania also took gold in the men’s four, holding off a determined effort from Croatia in the closing stages of the race. However they came out on the wrong side of the sprint in the men’s double sculls and women’s four, which were won by Poland and the Netherlands respectively. The Dutch women’s four set a EChBT of 6:19.60.
There were also EChBTs for lightweight single sculls champions Lara Tiefenthaler (Austria) and Fabio Kress (Germany), again in exciting finishes.
In both double sculls events athletes who have moved from competing in lightweight categories to openweight won medals; Greece’s Zoi Fitsiou and Dimitra Kontou came very close to defeating Dutch duo Roos de Jong and Tessa Dullemans in the women’s double sculls, while lightweight men’s double sculls champion Fintan McCarthy secured bronze for Ireland together with his new doubles partner Konan Pazzaia behind Poland and Romania.
Racing on the regatta course in Plovdiv concludes on Sunday 1 June with the remaining A and B-finals and medals to be won in nine events.
The men’s quadruple sculls looks like it will be another close race with the finalists all clustered tightly in the semifinals. There are exciting newcomers to the women’s single sculls to look out for, including the form sculler Lauren Henry (GBR). The regatta will end with the men’s eights final, where defending European champions Great Britain go up against crews including Germany and the Netherlands.
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