PRESS RELEASE: Entries announced for 2012 Samsung World Rowing Cup I

Tight and exciting racing will be showcased on the four days of racing. Boats that have already qualified for the Olympic Games will seek to measure themselves against their competitors in the lead up to London while crews still dreaming of qualification will attempt to prove their speed to selectors ahead of Lucerne.

The format of the Samsung World Rowing Cup series remains unchanged. As has been the custom since the inauguration in year 1997, an event leader will be determined in each boat class at each of the three stages of the series. The leader will be awarded the yellow leader bib and will carry the leader status forward to the next regatta. The 2012 overall series winner will be awarded at the end of the final stage of the Samsung World Rowing Cup in Munich, Germany.

The men’s single sculls has attracted the largest number of entries with 27 boats lining up. Amongst them are four of the top six scullers in the world: Ondrej Synek (CZE), Olaf Tufte (NOR), Lassi Karonen (SWE) and Alan Campbell (GBR) will all be attempting to establish early season dominance. Amongst the women’s single sculls, reigning World Champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic is the one to watch as she takes on 2010 World Champion Frida Svensson of Sweden and 2011 4th place getter Xiuyun Zhang of China.

Great Britain is using Belgrade to test their potential Olympic dream team. The team includes a new men’s four line-up with the inclusion of the nation’s two top sweep rowers, Andrew Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed. The British men’s eight is considered even faster than the 2011 world silver medal crew. They hope to take on the mighty Germans who are on a three-year winning streak.

Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins lead the British women’s squad. Racing in the women’s double sculls, Grainger and Watkins will face a new German line-up which includes top single sculler Annekatrin Thiele and the very experienced Britta Oppelt.

The Romanians are looking to boost their 2011 results with the return from retirement of multiple Olympic Champions Georgeta Andrunache and Viorica Susanu. Andrunache and Susanu both retired in 2008 and their appearance sees them strengthening the Romanian women’s pair and the women’s eight.

This regatta doubles as the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta. Racing commences for adaptive rowers on 3 May with heats in the four adaptive rowing events. These four events – AS women’s single sculls, AS men’s single sculls, TA mixed double sculls and LTA mixed coxed four – have attracted large numbers and as only the top two boats in each event qualify for the London Paralympic Games, competition will be intense.

To consult the entries and provisional timetable, please find direct links on the homepage of www.worldrowing.com.

A full event-by-event preview for 2012 Samsung World Rowing Cup I will be published on www.worldrowing.com on Wednesday 2 May.

The finals of each World Cup event will be video streamed live on Sunday 6 May. You will find direct links to the video streaming platforms at www.worldrowing.com/video.

During the regatta, race reports, live results and a dedicated photo gallery will be provided on www.worldrowing.com.  

For late media accreditation requests, please contact FISA Communications Manager at debora.feutren@fisa.org.

For more information – FISA media contact
Débora Meier-Feutren, FISA Communications Manager
Mobile +41 79 793 56 00
E-mail: debora.feutren@fisa.org