Men’s Pair Men’s Pair of Ben Taylor and Oli Welch of New Zealand during the World Rowing Cup Lucerne, Switzerland, 2025.
Photo: © Rowing NZ 2025 / PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand will field four crews in the A-finals at the World Cup regatta in Spain, with their hopes spearheaded by world champion men’s pair Ben Taylor and Oli Welch.
Other Kiwis chasing gold in Seville on Monday morning will be the the men’s and women’s four and the women’s quad.
Taylor and Welch believe they’ve timed their run well after winning their semi-final but are wary of the other semi winners – Romania – who they beat emphatically to claim victory at last year’s world championships.
“Pretty excited for the final. I think if we have our best race we’re in a good position,” Welch said.
“The semi probably wasn’t our best race, we’ve got a few things to work on, but it’s not far off.”
Welch noted the Romanians had tweaked their crew this year, making them hard to plan for going into the final.
“They seem to be going as quick or even quicker. But it’s a bit hard to say, to be honest, since we haven’t raced them yet,” Welch said.
“We’re just been steadily improving and probably in a lot better spot right now than we were a year ago. Individually, we’re probably both doing better ergs, a bit stronger in the gym.”
The young men’s four of Fred Vavasour, Campbell Crouch, Harry Fitzpatrick and Josh Vodanovich were third in their semi-final behind the Netherlands and France – in just their second race together as a crew.
The new women’s pair combination of Katie Lush and Juliette Lequeux finished fifth in their semifinal and will contest the B-final.
The women’s four and women’s quad both qualified for their A-finals with strong rows on the opening day.
The four comprises Alana Sherman, Isla Blake, Kate Haines and Ella Cossill.
The women’s quad is made up of Stella Clayton-Greene, Olivia Hay, Beckie Leigh and Veronica Wall.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.