2021 World Rowing Junior Championships Preview
The best junior-aged rowers from around the world will be competing this week at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships.
Hosted in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the World Rowing Junior Championships will start tomorrow (Wednesday, Aug. 11) and run until Sunday, Aug. 15. Nearly 600 rowers from 43 nations will be competing in the annual event. Canada’s junior national team is loaded with up-and-coming talent and have been in Bulgaria since last week doing their last preparations prior to the competition starting. Before travelling to Bulgaria some members of the team completed their last block of training at the Ontario NextGen Performance Centre in Welland, Ont.
Canada is sending a team of 17 rowers to the competition, including nine athletes from Ontario. The Ontario athletes include Adrian Breen (Don Rowing Club), Giancarlo DiPompeo (St. Catharines Rowing Club), Payton Gauthier (Niagara Falls Rowing Club), and Shane Keagan (Ridley College) who will comprise the men’s quad. On the women’s side, twins Fiona and Hannah Elliott (London Western Rowing Club), Tegan Orth (St. Catharines Rowing Club) and Anna Pamenter (Don Rowing Club) will compete in the women’s quad while Madeleine Lauriault (Ottawa Rowing Club) will team with Nova Scotia’s Jana Peachey in the women’s double sculls.
The other boats racing for Canada include the men’s single sculls (Owen Marcovitz – Victoria City Rowing Club), the men’s pair (Matteo Banducci – Vancouver College, Alexander Gonin – Victoria City Rowing Club) and the women’s four (Ellexi Fulton – Shawnigan Lake School, Sophie Gower – Thunder Rowing Crew, Firinne Rolfe – St. Michaels University School, Ellie Sousa – Victoria City Rowing Club). A full list of entries for the event can be found here.
The coaches for the junior national team include Greg Szybka (Ontario NextGen Performance Centre), Mary Rao (South Niagara Rowing Club/Brock University), Pat Cody (Row Nova Scotia) and Katie Steenman (Victoria City Rowing Club).
Live streaming will be available on the World Rowing website for the races being held on Saturday, Aug. 14 and Sunday, Aug. 15. For full information on the event visit World Rowing.
