Day four in Plovdiv at the 2025 European Rowing Championships

All bar one of the nine European titles awarded on the last day of the 2025 European Rowing Championships went to British or German athletes: Olympic silver medallist Yauheni Zalaty (AIN1) was the only gold medallist not in these two national teams. It meant the overall medal table saw Great Britain on top. They finished the regatta with six gold, a silver and two bronze medals, ahead of Germany with five golds and a silver.

Quads

Great Britain won the quads and set new European Championship best times in both events: 6:11.0 for the women, and 5:35.02 for the men.

Terrifyingly for competitors of the British women’s quad, this golden combination is likely to get quicker in the coming weeks and months: Olympic champion Hannah Scott, who was unable to race in Plovdiv due to a viral illness, is waiting in the wings – and the British quad still has rate to play with. They underrated the field in both their heat and final by at least two pips.

Leander Club’s Cameron Nyland did a great job in the three seat between Olympic medallist Rebecca Wilde and Olympic champion Lola Anderson. At bow, the former oncology nurse Sarah McKay joined the minuscule number of athletes who make their international debut at a major championship and come home with a gold medal.

It was a disastrous race for the French. They suffered a boat-stopping crab in the third quarter which dramatically cut short their hopes of beating Germany and the Netherlands, who won silver and bronze, respectively.

“Our goal was to hang on to Great Britain and see what was possible,” said Germany’s Lisa Gutfleisch. “We did a good job and found our flow. In the heat after the start we couldn’t really find our rhythm, so we were working on that and it paid off.”

Great Britain’s men’s quad made history by coming through the field to win their country’s first ever European championship gold medal in this event.

“I can’t believe it, it hasn’t sunk in,” said stroke Rory Harris (GBR) – victorious in his first ever European championships. “It’s a joy to be able to win with these guys.”

“It feels as if this has been a long time coming,” said Olympian Callum Dixon, whose recent run includes four fourth place finishes at his last four major championships. “It feels now as if we’ve started something which has real potential behind it, so we’re very excited.”

A photofinish between Poland and the Netherlands determined the Dutch had won silver, and the Poles bronze. “The first 1000m was really fast, it was good conditions, and then after that Great Britain took the lead: we tried to take it back but they were better today,” said Dominik Czaja, the sole returner from Poland’s Olympic-bronze-medal-winning quad.

“I’m very proud of us as a crew, and with the progress we’ve made through this tournament. It’s the first real racing distance we’ve done together. We’ve only been together for a couple of weeks. The final felt good, it was a cool race, going into it we knew everyone was quick. We have to be grateful for this medal,” said Dutch Olympic medallist Simon van Dorp, who expects to race his single at the upcoming Italian world cup.

“Right now the team is trying things out, they purposely made a bit of a mix between some of the older guys, some of the new guys.”

“I want to be world champion. I want to be Olympic champion. I want to break the world best time. I want it all, the whole lot, I just love it.”

Lauren Henry GBR W1x

Singles

The men’s singles delivered a sensational race. Lithuania’s Giedrius Bieliauskas blasted off the start and into poll position before yielding to the Tokyo Olympic champion Stefanos Ntouskos.

The frenetic Greek sculler battled the Paris Olympic silver medallist Yauheni Zalaty (AIN1) through the middle of the race. Zalaty’s smooth and powerful sculling proved the more effective.

As Ntouskos lost his grip on gold, Germany’s Marc Weber pressed him for silver. “It was a very tough race, very tough and very hard. I had a good start but then couldn’t do it,” said Ntouskos who won his fourth consecutive European silver medal.

Romania’s Mihai Chiruta denied Weber a place on the podium. Chiruta’s bronze was his country’s first ever medal in this event.

One second separated all six boats at the first marker of the women’s single sculls, but Great Britain and Ireland pushed to the front and soon distanced the other scullers.

After record breaking performances in the heat and semifinal Olympic women’s quad champion Lauren Henry could be forgiven for a hint of complacency, but there was no such thing. She was at her diligent, metronomic best; even as Fiona Murtagh (IRL) set about testing the Brit, midrace.

With 600 meters to go Henry squeezed and Murtagh waived; twenty strokes later and the Irish sculler lost contact. Across the finish line Henry punched the air in celebration: a European gold medal in the women’s single to go alongside her Olympic one in the quad.

“I’ve done two world championships in the single, one at juniors and one at Under 23s and both times I made the A final but came forth, so to make the podium and get a gold medal today is really, really special. I wanted to come here and make a name for myself and I feel like I’ve done that,” said Henry. “I want to be world champion, I want to be Olympic champion, I want to break the world best time, I want to be the most successful British single sculler ever. I want it all, the whole lot, I just love it.”

“I’m a sweep girl really,” said Murtagh, who won Olympic bronze with Ireland’s women’s four in Tokyo and finished eighth in the pair in Paris. “We’ll see though, it’s going pretty well!”

Denmark’s Frida Sangaard is another women’s four Olympian. “I am quite new at sculling so when I came to the Europeans I had no expectations at all. I had a goal to get to the semifinals and that was it,” said the bronze medal winner. “I just keep surprising myself. I am proud of myself. But it’s all very new for me with the two oars.”

Eights

Great Britain tore up the women’s eight script by leaving the Romanian Olympic champions in their wake. The Dutch had the early momentum and led for most of the race, but as the lactate soared they fell to the British sprint finish. “That was great, Jack [Tottem, our cox] just told us what to do and we did it,” said Great Britain’s Martha Birtles who raced in the six seat.

There were screams of delight at the finish line. Italy took an opportunistic bronze medal ahead of Romania who finished in fourth place.

The 2025 European Rowing Championships closed with a stunning performance in the men’s eights, which saw the British claim their fifth consecutive European title.

As in the women’s race Great Britain judged their sprint finish to perfection, and again, it was the Dutch who slipped to second place, having led at every marker. There was only 0.24 seconds in it.

“It went exactly to plan,” said Matthew Aldridge, seven seat of the British eight. “We knew we had to put down a pace they couldn’t live. There was such a good rhythm coming down from Archie [Drummond, stroke] and support from the guys behind me.”

“To be honest the last twenty strokes or so was everything [we had, we were] all in,” said Great Britain’s cox Will Denegri, who described his crews as: “Quiet but determined, and obsessed. Deadly serious about everything they do. They’re a great bunch.”

Italy won bronze behind the Dutch, and snubbed out the promise of Germany’s men’s eight revival.

At least for the German supporters the morning started with two consecutive gold medals and a win in the head-to-head battle of lightweight men’s doubles.

PR2 Mixed double

Israel and Germany almost entered their own private battle midrace in the PR2 mixed doubles, as Ukraine lagged behind.

Early leaders Jasmina Bier and Paul Umbach (GER) stayed calm as Shahar Milfelder and Saleh Shahin (ISR) tracked them down, before hitting the afterburners in the final few hundred meters. Ukraine’s Anna Aisanova and Iaroslav Koiuda stormed through the tired Israelis to take silver.

Lightweights

It was a sad scene to see just two lightweight men’s doubles competing for top honours at these championships (and no women’s lightweight doubles at all), but perhaps a predictable turn of events given the end of Olympic lightweight rowing.

Nevertheless Austria and Germany were ready to duke it out for what could arguably prove to be one of the last, if not the last European lightweight men’s double titles, should numbers continue to dwindle.

Austria’s Elias Hautsch and Mathias Mair threw themselves at the race with a blazingly quick start, their first 500m rivalled that of the world best time set in Tokyo by the legendary Irishmen Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy. But Austria’s hopes of pulling like a dog disappeared vanishingly quickly. Germany’s Joachim Agne and Finn Wolter crept back alongside Austria, and away to a commanding lead.

More lightweight German success came courtesy of the Aigner brothers, Alexander and Maximilian, who dominated the lightweight men’s pair. Behind them Georgia took silver ahead of Moldova’s Nichita Naumciuc and Dmitrii Zincenco, who claimed their fourth consecutive bronze medal in this event. It was an experience-building fourth place for the Armenian teenagers, Armen Halajyan, 19, and Armen Kosyan, who is just 16 years old.

Next stop Varese, Italy for the first world cup which starts on Friday 13 June 2025. See you there.

2025 European Rowing Championships