Paris 2024 Rowing Preview: Clash between European, Oceanian rowers, China aiming for breakthrough

PARIS, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Australia and New Zealand collected five out of 14 rowing golds on offer at the Tokyo Olympics, and will continue to challenge the dominance of European rowers at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

As the reigning Olympic champions in the men's four and the women's four, the Australian rowing team at Paris 2024 will face a challenge from Great Britain, the 2024 World Rowing Cup overall winner in these two events.

Led by two-time Olympic champion Helen Glover, the British boat is heading for the top of the podium in the women's four. At the 2023 World Rowing Championships held in Belgrade of Serbia, Great Britain finished first in the men's four, followed by the United States and New Zealand in second and third place respectively.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast of New Zealand came from behind to win the women's pair title, and their compatriots were also crowned in the women's single sculls and men's eight.

In 2022, Prendergast announced her retirement from professional rowing at the age of 30, which inevitably affected the team's overall strength in the Paris Olympic cycle. But New Zealand's rowers still demonstrated their competitiveness at a high level in the women's single sculls and men's four.

The Netherlands is a notable force at Paris 2024, as Dutch rowers triumphed in a number of events at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, including the women's single sculls, women's pair, women's four, men's double sculls, and men's quadruple sculls.

Reigning world champions Stefan Broenink and Melvin Twellaar of the Netherlands, who took silver in the men's double sculls at the Tokyo Olympics, have dominated the event in the last two years, and their major rivals in Paris may be Italy's pair of Luca Rambaldi and Matteo Sartori, as well as Ireland's duo Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle.

Olympic champions Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis of Romania remain favorites in the women's double sculls, while 25-year-old Radis is also competing in the eight. Other powerhouses such as Germany, Norway, Croatia and Canada are also in good form to chase for Olympic glory.

China seized its second Olympic rowing gold medal in the last edition of the Games, as Cui Xiaotong, Lyu Yang, Zhang Ling and Chen Yunxia led all the way to finish first in the women's quadruple sculls.

The quartet also clinched gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, but need to further improve their performance to compete with world-leading athletes at the Olympics.

Chinese rowers will also participate in the women's double sculls, men's double sculls, women's four, and women's lightweight double sculls, striving for new breakthroughs on the Olympic stage.

The Paris 2024 rowing competitions will take place at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium from July 27 to August 3.