2014 World Rowing Junior Championships - Results

German's Women Eight winner at the World Championships in Hamburg. Photo: FISA.

World Rowing Junior Championships in Hamburg, Germany, ended yesterday. FISA writes in a press release:

The home advantage paid off for Germany as they finished at the top of the medals table at the 2014 World Rowing Junior Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

The 13 finals raced on the fifth day of the regatta saw rowers face challenging rowing conditions which called for excellent technique. Germany was the only country to have boats in all 13 finals and they topped it off by winning the most medals including seven gold medals.

The golds for Germany came in the men's and women's eight, men's and women's single sculls, men's four, men's quadruple sculls and men's double sculls. This gave the host nation a clean sweep in the blue riband boat classes. The women's single saw Melanie Goeldner stay ahead of Camille Juillet of France and Marieke Keijser of the Netherlands to win the event. Tim Ole Naske won the men's single sculls by a large margin with Daniel De Groot of Canada and South Africa's Daniel Watkins taking silver and bronze respectively.

After missing the podium in 2013, the German women's eight won this year over the 2013 Junior World Champions, Romania as well as the crew from Russia. Romania ended with bronze and Russia with silver. In the men's eight Germany finished ahead of the Netherlands and Italy. The silver for the Netherlands was their first medal in this boat class and it represented one of two medals that the Dutch won at this regatta.

Romania finished second on the medals table with a count of two gold medals, two silvers and a bronze. The golds for Romania came in the women's double sculls and the women's pair. China also tallied up two gold medals. The Chinese brought a small team to the regatta, and found success in the women's four and women's quadruple sculls.

Italy and the Czech Republic both had gold medal success with Italy winning the men's coxed four and the Czech Republic taking gold in the men's pair.

Find the results here.

A number of these athletes will now move on to the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China which begins on 17 August, 2014.

Next on the World Rowing calendar is the 2014 World Rowing Championships. These will be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 24 to 31 August.

2014 World Rowing Junior Championships

Representing the USA in the women's double sculls at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Germany are Claire Campbell (bow) and Mary Campbell, sisters of Andrew Campbell, who just last weekend became the champion in the men's lightweight single sculls at the 23-Under Championships. Photo: USRowing.

On 6-10 August, the 2014 World Rowing Junior Championships will be held in Hamburg, Germany. About the Championships FISA writes on their website:

More than 730 junior athletes, under the age of 19, from 57 nations will compete in the 13 different boat classes. Germany, Italy and the United States have entered the largest teams; they have entered all 13 events with a total of 49 athletes each.

The women’s single sculls has an impressive turnout and with 35 crews entered, it is the largest field competing at the event. The men’s single sculls has 32 crews entered and the men’s pair and men’s quadruple sculls both with a field of 27.

This is the first FISA World Championship appearance for Nigeria and Togo, who will both compete in the women’s single sculls, with Nigeria also entered in the men’s quadruple sculls.

The course is located on the Dove-Elbe Water Park, which was officially opened as a regatta course in 1985. It is situated on a peaceful arm of the Elbe River and has hosted numerous national and international rowing events including the World Rowing Cup in 2011.

For rowers to be eligible to compete at the World Rowing Junior Championships, they must be 18 years of age or under. A rower can compete as a junior until 31 December of the year in which he or she reaches the age of 18; after that date the rower is classified as an under-23 rower.

Some participants from developing nations are able to attend the World Rowing Junior Championships through donations from participants at the World Rowing Masters Regatta (whose participants are all over the age of 27). 

Live race tracker, audio streaming, results, race reports, live blog and a photo gallery will be available throughout the junior championships on www.worldrowing.com

A full list of entries and an updated provisional timetable can be found here.

Jean-Christophe Rolland, New President of FISA in July 2014

Jean-Christophe Rolland (FRA) ©Igor Meijer/FISA

In a press release from yesterday, the International Rowing Fedaration, FISA, writes that its member federations elected Jean-Christophe Rolland of France as the future President of FISA on the first ballot at the 2013 Ordinary Congress in Chungju, South Korea. Rolland received 117 of the 179 ballots cast. The required absolute majority was 90 votes. Other candidates John Boultbee (AUS) and Tricia Smith (CAN) received 50 and 12 votes respectively.

Rolland holds a Master Degree in electrical, electronics and communications engineering and has worked for EDF, one of the world’s leading electric utility companies, since 1993. At first an engineer, then a regional Deputy Director, he was appointed the Human Resources Director of his business unit. Rolland managed EDF’s sponsorship programme with the London 2012 Olympic Games Organising Committee.

 Rolland participated in three Olympic Games, winning bronze in Atlanta and gold in Sydney. He has five World Championship medals, including two gold medals. Appointed to FISA’s Athletes Commission in 1994, Rolland served as Chair of the Commission between 2002 and 2011 and served on FISA’s Executive Committee from 2004 to 2011, at which time the FISA Council appointed him as a co-opted member.



Rolland will assume the presidency in July 2014, when the current president Denis Oswald will step down from the position. Denis Oswald, FISA president since 1989, announced earlier this year at FISA’s 2013 Extraordinary Congress that he would seek re-election but only for a transitional period of six to eight months. The FISA Council decided to stage the election of Oswald’s successor at the same Congress in order to assist the newly elected ‘president-elect’ in the transfer of knowledge and introductions to the international sports world.



The Congress also elected Tricia Smith (CAN) as Vice-President, winning 98 of a possible 178 votes. Smith was running against the incumbent Vice-President Anita DeFrantz (USA). In addition, Michael Williams (GB), the current Treasurer, was re-elected unopposed. The final elections that took place were for the three commission chairs who also serve on the Executive Committee. The Council had to wait for the outcome of the election for the President and Vice-President elections before proposing the remaining three members of the Executive Committee: Mike Tanner (HKG), John Boultbee (AUS) and Lenka Wech (GER). The delegates voted to approve the proposal. Wech, the only new member of the Executive, is the Chair of the Athletes’ Commission.



Denis Oswald, FISA president since 1989, is retiring next summer, and will be succeeded by Jean-Christophe Rolland.

At the end of the meeting, the Congress unanimously adopted a proposal of the FISA Council to name Denis Oswald ‘FISA Honorary President for Life’, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to rowing over the past 36 years.

Three World Rowing Championship regattas were attributed by the Congress with unanimous decisions: the 2017 World Rowing Championships to Sarasota, USA, 2018 World Rowing Championships to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the 2015 World Rowing Under-23 Championships to Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The FISA Council also announced its decision to award the second World Rowing Cup of 2015 to Varese, Italy, and the third World Rowing Cup to Lucerne, Switzerland. Lucerne will host the second World Rowing Cup of 2016 along with the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, and the third and final World Rowing Cup of 2016 will be held in Poznan, Poland.



Bids for the first World Rowing Cup of 2015 and 2016 had been requested from outside Europe, but following a review of the World Rowing Cup in Sydney in 2013 and 2014, it was decided that bids from within Europe should be considered, so the Council announced that these events would not be attributed at this Congress. Bidding has therefore been reopened and both events will be awarded in December 2013.

Three additional events were attributed by the FISA Council: the 2016 World Rowing Masters Regatta to Copenhagen, Denmark, the 2017 World Rowing Masters Regatta to Bled, Slovenia and the 2015 World Rowing Coastal Championships for Clubs to Lima, Peru. The latter marks the first World Rowing Championship event to be awarded to South America, and the first time that the World Rowing Coastal Championships will take place outside of Europe.



Five new national federations were admitted as members of FISA: Benin, Botswana, Mali, Saudi Arabia and St. Vincent & Grenadines. This brings the total number of FISA member federations to 142.

2013 World Junior Championships - reports and results

Jessica Leyden, Great Britain's first junior world champion in the single sculls.

The 2013 World Rowing Junior Championships in Trakai, Lithuania, ended today. This regatta was the main qualification regatta for new Youth Olympic Games, YOG, which will be rowed for the first time next year, 2014. To read more about the Junior Championships, FISA has race reports and results on their web site, here.

Read what Rachel Quarrell, of the Daily Telegraph, has to say about Leyden's victory, here.