EVENT
2023 European Rowing Championships Review
W1x (Women’s single)
After last year it felt like no particular surprise either for Karolien Florijn to win another gold (this time with a different Dutchman claiming a matching victory to celebrate with her on the raft), or for her to do it by the Bled equivalent of a country mile. Whilst there were plenty of quality entrants in the racing, Florijn simply outclassed them, brushing aside even Swiss prodigy Aurelia-Maxima Janzen, who had cheekily gone faster than the Dutchwoman when both won their respective opening heats and semi-finals. The wildcard in the entry was Lithuania's Ieva Adomaviciute, who had returned to racing last summer after serving a suspension for doping (a banned compound she said she had inadvertently consumed). A former small-boat specialist, she returned after her three-years break into the quad last summer, but after they won the B-final it seems this year she is giving the single a go, sticking like glue to leaders Florijn and Janzen and showing every sign of being back on form.