World Rowing Cup I got underway in Seville with close racing in hot conditions. There were some massive shocks early in the programme with famous faces still finding their feet. It’s only day one, and yet the form crews are already rising to the challenge.

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Karolien Florijn makes a splash in the women’s single sculls

Those hoping for a three champion showdown come Sunday’s W1x final will have to wait. A buzzing boat park is par for the course when a Dutch Olympic champion returns to face the defending world champion from Ireland and Great Britain’s European champion. But for now that script has been torn up.

Dutch Olympic champion Karolien Florijn capsized in her first race back since winning the Paris Olympics, which allowed fellow Dutchwoman Roos de Jong a win in heat 3 ahead of France’s Emma Lunati. With Florijn out of the running we could see a rerun of the epic battle in Shanghai between Great Britain’s Lauren Henry and Ireland’s Fiona Murtagh. That said, Lithuania’s Viktorija Senkute will hope to spoil the party.

Photo Karolien Florijn of the Netherlands

The remaining W1x heats largely followed form. In heat 1, Switzerland’s Aurelia-Maxima Janzen set the early pace with Germany’s Alexandra Foester alongside her. By the third 500 metres, 2025 world champion Fiona Murtagh had moved to the front and held it to the line. Foester came through for second, less than a second ahead of Jansen. It was the tightest of the four heats.

Heat 2 belonged to Lithuanian sculler Senkute, the Paris Olympic medallist, won comfortably. Belgium’s Mazarine Guilbert came second after moving past Australia’s Tara Rigney, who is still finding her feet after time out of rowing last year. Henry dominated heat 4, the fastest heat, from start to finish with Dutch W4- Olympic champion Benthe Boonstra taking second.

Stefanos Ntouskos struggles in the men’s single sculls

The men’s single scullers put in a double shift under the Spanish sun; racing heats in the morning and quarterfinals in the afternoon.

The second quarterfinal of the men’s single sculls set the afternoon session alight. As the crews raced beneath the bridge, towards the final quarter, four scullers battled for three qualification spots with Great Britain and Spain lagging behind. At the finish, less than half a second separated Lithuania, Spain, and Uruguay who each secured a place in the semifinals, while Hungary’s Bendegúz Pétervári-Molnár missed out.

Photo Fintan McCarthy of Ireland

Top and tailing the men’s single sculls quarterfinals were slick sculls from the Paris medallists, Yauheni Zalaty (AIN) and Olympic champion Oliver Zeidler (GER). The German sculler cruised well clear of Jonas Slettemark Juel (NOR) and Bastian Secher (DEN).

Behind Zalaty, the Portuguese Under 23 bronze medallist Diogo Goncalves impressed: he held Romanian Olympian Mihai Chiruta at bay. While Slovenia’s Filip-Matej Pfeifer denied Fintan McCarthy a second win of the day in the third quarterfinal.

Shockingly Greece’s Tokyo Olympic champion and 2025 world champion Stefanos Ntouskos was rowed out of contention in the last quarterfinal, dropping the Greek sculler into tomorrow’s D-final.

No quarter given in the pairs

New Zealand’s Oliver Welch and Benjamin Taylor, the 2025 world champions, earned a direct route to the semifinals with a heat win nearly two seconds quicker than Romania 1’s Florin Lehaci and Stefan Berariu. Spain took a popular home victory in heat 3.

In the women’s pair, Australia beat Lithuania by 0.01 seconds for the closest finish of the day. Chile’s Antonia and Melita Abraham won the fastest heat after a tussle with Czechia, while France’s world silver medallists took heat 2.

Retro double sculls

Rio 2016 Olympic champions Martin and Valent Sinkovic (CRO) returned to the men’s double for the first time since the 2023 World Championships, having spent the last two Olympics in the pair. They finished fourth in their heat, missing the semifinals by less than 0.5 seconds. The field is compressed, with only 1.35 seconds separating the four heat winners on time. World silver medallists Martin Mackovic and Nikolaj Pimenov (SRB) were quickest. Great Britain’s Edward Fuller, a Paris Paralympic PR3 Mix4+ champion, made his Olympic-class debut in heat 4 and won a spot into the semifinal.

Photo Edward Fuller of Great Britain

Ireland, Romania and the Netherlands each put both of their women’s double sculls crews into the semifinals. Netherlands 1 was the fastest qualifier, narrowly ahead of Ireland 1, and the five quickest times all came from heat 3.

Fours and quads

Australia was the standout crew in the women’s four, winning heat 2 as New Zealand edged Great Britain for the second automatic spot. Great Britain will race the final alongside Poland; the Netherlands and Ireland came through heat 1.

Great Britain’s unchanged world champion men’s four won their heat by seven seconds over New Zealand. Romania and the Netherlands won the other heats with far tighter margins.

Photo AUS W4-

Legendary single sculler Damir Martin, a former two-time world champion, returned after a year away from international racing to join Croatia’s quad, which beat a British crew containing two world silver medallists. Martin called it “joyful”. Only six seconds split all 12 semifinalists. Germany and the Netherlands won the other heats.

Great Britain’s women’s quad, loaded with three world silver medallists and two Olympic champions, won their heat ahead of Germany. Romania, New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland complete the A-final line-up.

Eight is eight

World champions the Netherlands led the women’s eight preliminary through halfway, but Great Britain moved through and held on. Australia were third. In the men’s eight the Dutch started fast again and this time kept the lead, with Romania producing a rapid sprint in the closing quarter. Great Britain finished third.

Photo NED M8+

Lightweights

Portugal’s João Veloso, 18, won the fastest lightweight men’s single sculls heat on his World Rowing Cup debut. He will meet three-time World Cup medallist Hiu Chin Chiu (HKG) in Sunday’s final. Kenia Lechuga (MEX), who has been training in Seville ahead of the regatta, won her lightweight women’s single heat comfortably, though Femke van de Vliet (NED) looked sharp in taking heat 2.

Photo Kenia Lechuga of Mexico

Saturday’s semifinals will settle the remaining A-final places, with day-one margins already proving that fractions of a second can mean the difference between a medal race and the consolation events.

2026 World Rowing Cup Series