Launching during the 2016 para-rowing training camp in Gavirate, Italy
Launching during the 2016 para-rowing training camp in Gavirate, Italy

While the qualification regatta included those still hoping to secure a birth for the Paralympic Games, the main Gavirate International Para-Rowing Regatta included many crews who had previously  qualified  for Rio 2016 by their performances at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France.

The event, that has grown in size and competitiveness over the years, saw some tough races and familiar faces on the podium as crews prepare in the lead up to the Games.

Results – Paralympic boat classes

AS men’s single sculls (ASM1x)

This was a surprise result when Ukrainian sculler Roman Palianskyi captured gold ahead of fellow Ukrainian Igor Bondar and Tom Aggar of Great Britain. The result was a reversal of their finishing order at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France where Aggar captured silver and Bondar took bronze with Palianskyi not competing.

Another Ukrainian, Sergiy Khyzhnyak, placed fourth, besting Rene Pereira of Brazil and Alexander Van Holk of the Netherlands. As with Bondar and Aggar, Pereira and Van Holk had finished in the reverse order at the 2015 World Rowing Championships where Van Holk was ranked 6th and Pereira 7th.

AS women’s single sculls (ASW1x)

In a field comprising of five of the top seven finishers from the 2015 World Rowing Championships, the racing in this A-final was a window into future Paralympic performances for Rio this summer. Brigit Skarstein of Norway won with a 6.39 second lead over Great Britain’s Rachel Morris, flipping their finish order from Aiguebelette.

Bronze went to Brazil’s Claudia Santos, while Eleonora De Paolis of Italy placed fourth and Sandra Khumalo of South Africa came in fifth. Notably absent was the reigning World Champion, Moran Samuel of Israel.

[PHOTO src=”122687″ size=”mediumLandscape” align=”right”]

TA mixed double sculls (TAMix2x)

The A-final was an incredible race and it came right down to the line where France’s Perle Bouge and Stephane Tardieu edged out Lauren Rowles and Laurence Whiteley of Great Britain by the narrowest of margins to take gold. Dutch partners Esther van der Loos and Marinus de Koning captured bronze. A mere 0.18 seconds separated first through third with Bouge and Tardeiu only 0.02 seconds ahead of Rowles and Whiteley.  With Kathryn Ross and Gavin Bellis, the 2015 World Champion crew from Australia, not in attendance, the British and French crews exchanged positions from their results at the World Championships.

Ukraine’s Dmytro Ivanov, who had finished fourth in Aiguebelette with Iryna Kyrychenko, repeated that result with new partner Svitlana Bohuslavska, although now finishing behind the Netherlands’ crew rather than the other way around.

LTA mixed coxed fours (LTAMix4+)

Making up for a ninth-place finish at the 2015 World Rowing Championships, the Australian crew of Ingram Broke, Jeremi McGrath, Davinia Lekoy, Kate Murdok, and coxswain Jo Barnand not only raced to gold in a time of 3:32.47, but they did so having already finished first earlier that day at the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta, where they secured their berth for the Rio 2016 Games.

South Africa’s Shannon Murray, Luca Perold, Dylan Trollope, Dieter Rosslee, and coxswain Willie Morgan took silver while the Ukrainian crew of Oleksandra Yankova, Iryna Yarynka, Oleksandr Bilonozhko, Maksym Zhuk, and coxswain Volodymyr Kozlov went home with bronze. France, Germany, and Italy rounded out the A-final.

Results – Non-Paralympic boat classes

Along with the three Paralympic events, races also took place for the LTA mixed double sculls and the TA men’s and women’s single sculls. Murray and Rosslee of South Africa won the LTAMix2x event ahead of France’s Guylaine Marchand and Fabien Saint-Lannes in second and Austria’s Johanna Beyer and Rainer Putz in third. Russia and Mexico finished fourth and fifth in the A-final.

Brazil’s Michel Pessannha took gold in the TAM1x  final, besting Scott Meenagh of Great Britain (silver), and Nir Mayo of Isreal (bronze). Italian sculler Massimo Spolon placed fourth.

Annika Van Der Meer of the Netherlands defeated Irsael’s Yulia Chernoy in a two boat final in the TA women’s single sculls. 

Outlook

With the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games only a few months away, things are heating up in para-rowing. The final major regatta for para-rowers before the Games will be the World Rowing Cup III in Poznan, Poland 17-19 June. Check out event information before and results and updates during the event http://www.worldrowing.com/events/2016-world-rowing-cup-iii/event-information