Womens coxless pairs

For the Rio Olympic regatta – the top crews fancied by Dan Spring are

• Canada – the wildcard entry “Canada have made the somewhat bold decision to boat an entirely new combination for Rio.”
• Great Britain “The British dominate the W2- in nearly the same way as Murray and Bond dominate the M2-. They are national heroines in Britain having kicked started the gold medal rush at the London Olympics and in doing so became the first British women rowers to win an Olympic Gold medal.”
• New Zealand “New Zealand are the last crew to have beaten the British W2- and Rebecca Scown was part of that crew back in 2011.   They have two silvers behind the British and will be one of the main threats to the British retaining their Olympic title. New Zealand for the bronze.”
• USA “The USA probably pose the biggest challenge to Great Britain’s chances of retaining their Olympic title in Rio. The selected boat of Mueller and Luczak may be Olympic novices but they have a wealth of international experience.“

The Mens Coxless Pair

The mens coxless pair preview and forecast for Rio – excerpts below.

• Australia “Australia have a very strong tradition in this boat class, winners in both Athens and Beijing and medallists in Sydney and Atlanta. The class of 2016 look to be following that tradition of medal standard boats. Neither Spencer Turrin nor his pairs partner Alex Lloyd have raced at the Olympics before, but they are an experienced duo.”
• France “Cardin and Mortelette are, without doubt, the best two rowers in the French team, they are certainly the most decorated, two Olympic medals and a World Championship gold medal to their credits.“
• Great Britain “Although the Brits “only” won bronze in Poznan the fact that they were so focussed on racing their countrymen probably cost them the silver. When it comes to Rio the British are my favourites to lead the charge against the Kiwis. GB for silver.”
• Italy “The Italian pair lining up in Rio is not the pairing that the Italians planned, but unlike GB this isn’t due to injury but to the rather more sordid fact of a doping violation.  But, Mornati has been suspended for a doping violation and rather than try and form a new partnership with Capelli, the Italians have gone for a completely new line up.  Giovanni Abagnale and Domenico Montrone were both in the Italian M8 that just missed qualifying for Rio.” [but are now promoted due to the Russian situation.]
• The Netherlands “The Dutch head to Rio as one of the favourites for a medal. Brass in the pair with Steenman they’ve got a real chance of a good medal in Rio. I reckon it’ll be between the Dutch and the British for the silver medal.”
• New Zealand “What else can one say about Murray and Bond, without doubt the finest men’s crew in rowing history.”
• Serbia “On their day they could be a serious contender for a medal, but the competition is going to be very fierce and I reckon they will just miss out.”