World Cup Team announced
The countdown to Paris 2024 is officially on with Canada’s top rowers and Olympic champions returning to international competition for the first time since Tokyo 2020. The 2022 World Rowing Cup 2 will be hosted from June 17-19 in Poznan, Poland at one of the most modern venues in the world, Lake Malta.
Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) will send seven crews to World Cup 2, including the first men’s eight to represent Canada since 2019. The women’s eight will make its official return to the international circuit at World Cup 3 in Lucerne, Switzerland, including three members of the golden women’s eight from Tokyo 2020. Looking ahead to Paris, Canada is setting firm sights on podium finishes in both the men’s and women’s eights at the 2024 Olympic Games.
“Canadian rowing has a deep-rooted legacy of Olympic success in the eights dating back over 100 years,” said RCA’s Interim High Performance Director, Adam Parfitt. “It’s an important piece of our high performance strategy of building a bigger pool of athletes leading into Paris in addition to our ongoing strategy of supporting the development and sustainability of our small boat success on the international stage.”
Three-time Olympian and 2012 silver medallist Will Crothers is back in the men’s eight for the World Cup season with fellow Tokyo Olympians (men’s four) Jakub Buczek and Luke Gadsdon. 2020 Paralympic coxswain Laura Court will steer the men’s mighty eight at both World Cup 2 and 3.
Olympic champions Avalon Wasteneys and Sydney Payne will test the waters in Poland, racing in the women’s four with fellow Tokyo teammates Jessica Sevick and Gabrielle Smith. All eyes will then shift to Lucerne where Wasteneys and Payne will race the women’s eight, steered by Olympic gold and Paralympic bronze medallist coxswain Kristen Kit.
“I’m looking forward to getting back into international racing after taking some time after Tokyo to reset and re-energize,” said Wasteneys. “It’s been really rewarding to get back into things with a slightly different group of athletes, and I’m excited to see what we will build this summer. I’m particularly excited about racing in new boat classes, as I have only ever competed internationally in the women’s eight event and I am sure it will prove to be an awesome opportunity for growth!”
In the singles category, two-time U23 World Champion and Tokyo Olympian Trevor Jones will be targeting his first World Cup podium finish, while Olympian Jill Moffatt will look to defend her 2019 World Cup 2 title in the lightweight women’s single. She will be joined by senior team newcomer Karissa Riley, who will also race the lightweight women’s single in Poland before joining forces with Moffatt in the lightweight double in Lucerne.
The women’s double sculls will be raced by Marilou Duvernay-Tardif and Shannon Kennedy, both making their World Cup debut.