The 2022 World Rowing U19 and U23 Championships came to a close on Sunday July 31, with Canada leaving Italy with a silver and a bronze.
Five Canadian crews raced in A finals, with Canada making the podium in the U23 women’s double (Grace VandenBroek and Elisa Bolinger, silver) and the U23 lightweight men’s single (Stephen Harris, bronze). Details on Canada’s medallists can be found here.
The U23 women’s pair of Maya Meschkuleit and Leia Till finished fourth overall, following up on a sixth overall finish at World Cup 3 earlier this month. This regatta marked Meschkuleit’s fourth World Championship appearance for Canada, and the first for Till, both of whom row for universities in the United States.
Canada’s U23 men’s pair of Julian Black and Joel Cullen and U19 women’s pair of Mira Calder and Sophia Regosa both crossed the finish line fifth overall. All four athletes have spent the past season training out of British Columbia, with Black and Cullen rowing for the University of British Columbia and Calder and Regosa for Victoria City Rowing Club.
“We are very proud of our NextGen crews,” said Chuck McDiarmid, RCA NextGen Program Lead. “We had a large team of 45 athletes and 14 staff here in Italy that represented Canada well and worked hard to put out their best performances. We have a dedicated, talented pool of rowers in Canada, and the U19 and U23 World Championships are valuable experiences for those looking to excel and compete at a high level. It is exciting to have had five crews race the A finals and to see Grace, Elisa and Stephen win medals. Next up for many of our athletes and coaches is the Canada Summer Games, where several national team rowers will race for their provincial teams.”
The five remaining U19 crews raced in the B finals on Sunday (full results below). The U19 women’s double of Cait Whittard and Anna Pamenter crossed the line first in their final to claim seventh overall.
In the U23 competition, the men’s eight took third in the B final (ninth overall). The women’s eight finished seventh after a tight repechage, which saw just 1.3 seconds separating the first and fifth place finishers. The men’s double of Michael Ciepiela and Andrew Hubbard ended their campaign in Italy strong, claiming first in the C final.
Canadian national team crews will next be in action at the World Rowing Championships in Račice, Czech Republic from September 18-25, 2022.