The RRI Sports Club – Rowing

On Lake Rotsee, in Switzerland, Romanian rowers have once again shown their worth.

Florin Orban, 02.07.2025, 13:45

Every year, the world rowing elite meets in Lucerne, Switzerland, in a traditional regatta that is part of the World Cup calendar. Top athletes from all continents are attending and the competition sometimes allows making predictions about the favorites for the medals of the upcoming major competitions. This year’s edition took place less than three months before the World Championships scheduled for September, in China.

Among the Romanian crews, the coxless pair , European champions, performed best. In the women’s race, Simona Radiș and Magdalena Rusu won with a time of 6 minutes, 59 seconds and 4 hundredths, followed by the Czech boat more than five seconds behind. Florin Arteni and Florin Lehaci won the men’s event in 6 minutes, 17 seconds and 57 hundredths, with a lead of over two seconds over New Zealand. The women’s eight-plus-one crew also climbed to the top of the podium, composed, in this competition, of Cristina Drugă, Roxana Anghel, Iulia Bălăucă, Geanina Juncănariu, Ancuța Bodnar, Maria Lehaci, Adriana Adam and Amalia Bereș, with Victoria Petreanu at the helm.

In the men’s four-oars, Ștefan Berariu, Sergiu Bejan, Andrei Mândrilă and Ciprian Tudosă, the European champions of the event, won silver medals, being defeated by Australia. The women’s four-oars crew, composed of Iuliana Buhuș, Emanuela Ciotău, Alexandra Ungureanu, Patricia Cireș, also ranked second, and the men’s eight-plus-one crew won bronze medals. In double sculls, however, Olympic champions Florin Enache and Andrei Cornea missed qualifying for the A final, and did not start in the B final.

After the competition, the coordinating coach of Romania’s Olympic rowing teams, Dorin Alupei, said: (TRACK) “For us, it was a competition to evaluate our preparation before participating in the World Championships that will take place in Shanghai, China. I am satisfied with the results, it could have been even better. I am sorry that the men’s double sculls crew did not make it to the final due to medical problems, but all in all, the results are satisfactory. They can still improve, so we will make the necessary corrections when we return home.”