PRESS RELEASE: Gold for Italy's juniors in Plovdiv (BUL)

Italy stole the show today, taking an impressive three Junior World Championship titles in the women's pair, men's four and men's quadruple sculls. Adding to this impressive performance were the the junior women's quad who took bronze as well as their senior athletes who contributed a silver in the lightweight men's eight.

As this is an Olympic year, the senior championship races include all senior boat classes not on the Olympic programme, and today's finals saw Poland produce two gold medals with both their lightweight men's and junior women's quadruple sculls winning. For the Polish men it meant holding off a Greek crew that included two rowers who had come to Plovdiv directly from racing at the London Olympic Games. For the Polish women, their World Champion title is only the second ever in the history of Polish women's rowing.

The hotly contended lightweight men's eight saw Germany beat reigning World Champions Italy to the line. Germany's crew included London Olympic Champion coxswain from the men's eight, Martin Sauer, and also Germany's lightweight men's four who competed at the London Olympics.

Winners of the men's coxed pair, Belarus, included two rowers who had raced in the men's four at the London Olympics. Stanislau Shcharbachenia and Aliaksandr Kazubouiski of Belarus joined with coxswain Ivan Piatruchyk to finish ahead of France and earn World Championship gold. Finishing sprints saw the junior finals produce very close results with the junior men's four going to a photo finish for first place. Italy ended up winning over Romania by a slim 1/100th of a second.

In the junior women's four China had a clear win over two of the 2011 medallist countries, the 2011 junior champions, the United States, and the 2011 bronze medallists, New Zealand. This year the United States finished with silver and New Zealand won bronze. New Zealand had further success in the junior men's coxed four taking gold in that event.

A gold for Romania in the junior women's quadruple sculls saw them hold off Romania and New Zealand to become junior champions.

Racing continues on Sunday 19 August 2012 with finals starting at 10:20 (EEST) featuring the remaining senior finals of the men's and women's lightweight single sculls and the lightweight men's pair. Junior finals start at 11:00 (EEST) and continue through until 12:30 (EEST).