2014 World Rowing Award finalists announced

2014 World Rowing Female Crew of the Year 

Eveline Peleman (BEL, LW1x)
Eveline Peleman competed in her first senior World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam. After finishing third at the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, Peleman came to the senior level in fine form. At her first-ever senior championships, she walked away with the gold medal.

Annekatrin Thiele, Carina Baer, Julia Lier, Lisa Schmidla (GER, W4x)
Following a second place finish at the 2012 London Olympics and a first place finish at the 2013 World Rowing Championships, the line-up of the German’s women’s quadruple sculls went under scrutiny. With some crew changes early in the 2014 season, the team struck gold at the second and third World Rowing Cups. They went on to finish with a World Championship title and a new World Best Time at the World Rowing Championships.

Sophie Mackenzie, Julia Edward (NZL, LW2x)
Coming together just two weeks before the World Rowing Championships, this boat took everyone by surprise. Julia Edward competed in the lightweight women’s single for much of the 2014 season, following the injury of her partner Lucy Strack. Sophie Mackenzie won a gold medal at the under-23 championships before joining Edward. Together, they won the gold and set a new World Best Time in Amsterdam.

Emma Twigg (NZL, W1x)
Emma Twigg started the season just as she intended to finish it. Twigg beat Kim Crow to the line at the first World Rowing Cup in Sydney, Australia. She then swept up two more World Rowing Cup golds before proving to everyone that she was indeed the fastest women’s sculler in the world. Emma Twigg became World Rowing Champion for the first time in 2014.

2014 World Rowing Male Crew of the Year

Martin and Valent Sinkovic (CRO, M2x)
Martin and Valent Sinkovic transitioned flawlessly out of the quadruple sculls and into the double sculls in the 2014 season due to the injury of a fellow teammate. They swept up gold at World Rowing Cups II and III before taking the World Championship title and setting a new World Best Time.

Kasper Winther, Jacob Larsen, Jacon Barsoe, Morten Joergensen (DEN, LM4-)
The lightweight men’s four has been called a ‘national icon’ in Denmark. Growing in popularity and success since the 1980s, the newest line-up, following the retirement of Eskild Ebbesen, has carried on the legend of the Golden Four. With two World Rowing Cup silver medals, they took both the European and World Championship title and set a new World Best Time in 2014.

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Georgios Konsolas, Spyridon Giannaros, Panagiotis Magdanis, Eleftherios Konsolas (GRE, LM4x)
Greece came into the 2014 as defending champions in this boat class. Throughout the season they were divided into many different boats including the lightweight men’s double sculls, the lightweight men’s pair and the lightweight men’s single. Coming together for the World Championships they once again proved their ability to work as a team and walked away with their second consecutive World Championship title.

Eric Murray, Hamish Bond (NZL, M2-)
Since coming together in 2009, Eric Murray and Hamish Bond have been the crew to beat. At the 2012 Olympic Games the pair set the World Best Time in their boat class. These two athletes were formerly part of the New Zealand men’s four, but transitioned to this boat after the Beijing Olympics. They currently hold the record for the most number of consecutive international wins. In 2014, they not only won the World Championships in the men’s pair, but also in the men’s coxed pair, with coxswain Caleb Shepard, setting the new World Best Time. They won the Award in 2011 and 2013.

2014 World Rowing Para Crew of the Year

Erik Horrie (AUS, ASM1x)
Erik Horrie switched from wheelchair basketball to rowing in 2011. He was selected for the 2011 World Rowing Championships where he won a bronze medal. In 2012, he won a silver medal at the Paralympic Games, despite having suffered a seizure after his first heat, which saw him admitted to the hospital. In 2013, he won his first World Rowing Championships in Chungju, Korea and went on to retain his title in 2014.

Gavin Bellis, Kathryn Ross (AUS, TAMix2x)
Beginning in 2007, Kathryn Ross rowed with a number of partners and won several medals before finding the perfect fit with Gavin Bellis. Bellis joined the crew in 2012, just over one year after he first competed internationally in rowing. After a fifth-place finish at the 2012 Paralympic Games, Bellis and Ross came through in 2013 to win gold at the World Rowing Championships and they retained their title in 2014. They won the Award in 2013.

Birgit Skarstein (NOR, ASW1x)
2014 was Skarstein’s second year competing internationally. Last year she won bronze at the World Rowing Cup in Eton and silver at the World Rowing Championships in Chungju, Korea. A former swimmer and an active skier, Skarstein says she finally felt like she belonged at this year’s championships. Unable to compete at the World Cup in Aigubelette due to injury, Skarstein proved her dominance at the World Championships in Amsterdam by taking home the World Championship title.

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2014 World Rowing Coach of the Year

Roger Barrow (RSA)
Roger Barrow began as the high-performance manager of Rowing South Africa after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Since 2009, he has built a team of athletes, coaches, and technical staff. Unfortunately, the 2012 gold medal was not followed by an increase in funding but a reduction. Despite these setbacks, the South African rowing federation was successful this year in Amsterdam. South Africa reached 7 A finals out of 8 entries, with a gold medal in the men’s lightweight double sculls and a bronze in the men’s pair.

Bent Fransson (DEN)
Denmark has dominated the lightweight men’s four since the late 80s. They have recently regained their position as the top crew in the competitive lightweight men’s four boat class.  Coached by Bent Fransson since 2007, the “golden four” won Olympic gold in 2008 and bronze in 2012. After losing one of the most famous rowers of all time, Eskild Ebbesen, Fransson coached his crew of Kasper Winther, Jacob Larsen, Jacob Barsoe and Morten Joergensen to two consecutive World and European Championship titles.

Gianni Postiglione (ITA, GRE, LTU and RSA)
Gianni Postiglione has been to seven Olympic Games and 31 World Rowing Championships. Postiglione coached in a number of countries before establishing a Greece as a winning nation, coaching the lightweight men’s quadruple sculls and lightweight women’s single to two consecutive gold and silver medals respectively at the World Rowing Championships.  Since 2013, he has also acted as a consultant for the Lithuanian Olympic Committee with Olympic Solidarity. This is the fourth time Postiglione has been nominated for the World Rowing Coach of the Year Award. He won the award in 2006 and in 2011.

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2014 World Rowing Distinguished Services to International Rowing

John Boultbee (AUS)
John Boultbee was Secretary General of FISA from 1989 to 1995, Chair of FISA’s Competitive Rowing Commission from 1998 to 2014, a FISA Council member from 1998 to 2014 (except for the period 1995 to 1998) and an Executive Committee member from 2004 to 2014. He was a cox and coach at club and university level. Through his work, he raised standards in competitive rowing and increased participation in all types of rowing.

Peter Morrison (GBR)
Peter Morrison was Chair of the Masters Commission for many years as well as a FISA umpire and a FISA council member. Masters rowing developed significantly under his leadership as the chair of the commission. Morrison is currently collecting materials to write the history of masters rowing. He has been an active member of FISA as well as Scottish rowing.

Denis Oswald (SUI)
Denis Oswald was President of FISA for 25 years, following 11 years as Secretary General.  Oswald participated at three Olympic Games, including a medal at the 1968 Olympic Games and he won the Henley Royal Regatta. During his presidency, the number of FISA member national federations grew from 67 to 142, lightweight rowing was added to the Olympic Games Programme and para-rowing became part of the Paralympic Games programme. Oswald also held leading positions in the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The award winners will be publically announced and the winners presented with their awards on 8 November 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the 2014 World Rowing Coaches Conference gala dinner.

For more information on the Wolrd Rowing Awards, click here.