Which Rowing Teams to Look Out for at the Olympics
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One year late, we are at long last on the cusp of the 2020 Olympics. The games are scheduled to go on in Tokyo, beginning Friday the 23rd of July and wrapping up on the 8th of August. Undoubtedly we’re in for all kinds of entertaining action across a full range of sports. And if these Olympics hold to tradition, the rowing races will be some of the most thrilling of all.
As a brief refresher, Olympic rowing is split into 14 events — seven each for the men’s and women’s teams. This year, those events will occur throughout the first week of the games, from the 23rd through the 30th. And while there will be different individual and team favourites in each of the 14 competitions, it is already apparent that a few nations’ rowing contingents should garner special attention.
The following are the teams to look out for once the boats are in the water.
New Zealand
New Zealand would have been the country to watch in these Olympics had its decorated champion Mahe Drysdale been in the competition. Drysdale was a vaunted sculler who won bronze in Beijing in 2008 and gold in London (2012) and Rio (2016) — as well as a handful of medals at World Championship events over the years. Now 42 years of age however, Drysdale retired on the eve of the Olympics. Even without Drysdale present however, the Kiwis boast a very strong group of rowers. Hamish Bond, who twice won Olympic gold in the men’s pair event alongside the now-retired Eric Murray, looks to be in the mix in the men’s eight. Meanwhile, Team New Zealand will also have strong contenders in the women’s events. Emma Twigg will be seeking her first Olympic medal in sculls with a good shot to get it. And the world champion duo of Kerri Gowler and Grace Pendergast will almost certainly be favoured in the women’s pair.
Great Britain
Great Britain has arguably been the steadiest nation in the world when it comes to rowing, having secured at least one gold medal in each Olympics since 1984, according to Bwin Sports. This streak continued in Rio in 2016, when Great Britain won gold in the men’s coxless four and coxed eight, and the women’s coxless pair.
The 2020 games present one particularly interesting challenge for the British: The coxless four team of Matthew Rossiter, Oliver Cook, Rory Gibbs, and Sholto Carnegie may well be gold medal favourites after earning bronze and gold at the 2019 World and European Championships, respectively. However, this team is entirely different than the the one foursome that took gold in 2016 — meaning Britain will be attempting to win consecutive gold medals in this event with two different teams. This will be the main event for Great Britain in a sense, but expect the British to be in the mix in other rowing competitions as well.
Croatia
Croatia will be in the running for the men’s single sculls, with Damir Martin looking to fill the gap left by Drysdale’s retirement. Martin has two Olympic silver medals to his name — one in the quadruple sculls in 2012 and one in single sculls in 2016 — and will just have turned 33 when the games start. He ought to be in his prime, and perhaps the favourite for the gold in single sculls.
Even more intriguing with regard to the Croatian team, however, will be brothers Martin and Valent Sinković. The duo will be going for gold in a new event, having triumphed in double scrulls in Rio in 2016. This time around they’ll be competing in the men’s pair, where they’ll be adjusting to a new style but will still have a good chance to come out on top. Should they do so it will be one of the more impressive achievements in recent Olympic rowing history.
There will be other headliners among the rowers at the Olympics as well. Australia and the United States ought to be competitive in a handful of events each. Olaf Tufte of Norway is heading into his seventh Olympics in search of a fifth medal (and third gold). And Ireland’s Sanita Puspure will be looking to assert herself as arguably the most dominant figure in women’s rowing today in the single sculls.
If you’re looking for teams to keep an eye on though, make it a priority to catch Croatia, Great Britain, and New Zealand in action. They’ll produce some of the most exciting rowing of the summer.
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