Greek rowers make strong start at World Championships

Milena Kontou secured her place in the lightweight single sculls semifinals at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai.

The Greek rower finished second in the 2nd preliminary heat with a time of 7:51.87, behind Russian Maria Zovner, competing under the neutral athlete flag (7:44.31), CE Report quotes ANA-MPA.

The “bronze” Olympic medalist in Paris, along with Zoi Fitsiou in double sculls, celebrated her 20th birthday by qualifying and will compete in the 2nd semifinal on Thursday, September 25, at 5:37 a.m. Greece time, aiming for a spot among the top six crews in the world. The final is scheduled for Saturday, September 27, at 9:33 a.m. Greek time.

“Hopefully everything goes well, I feel good physically, and I manage to bring a medal for Greece,” Kontou said to ERT after her first race in this year’s World Championships.

On Monday, September 22, Stefanos Ntouskos also qualified for the single sculls quarterfinals, finishing second in the 1st preliminary heat with a time of 6:45.09, behind Dutch rower Van Dorp (6:43.03). The quarterfinals are scheduled for Wednesday, September 24, starting at 5:40 a.m. Greek time.

Zoi Fitsiou and Evangelia Anastasiadou secured a spot in the double sculls final after finishing third in the 1st preliminary heat with a time of 7:00.28, trailing the French duo Elodie Ravera Scaramozzino and Sema Lunati (6:56.82) and the Swiss pair Salom Ulrich and Fabienne Schweizer (6:58.63). The final will take place on Friday, September 26, at 9:37 a.m.

Antonis Papakonstantinou and Petros Gaidatzis, competing in double sculls for ranking positions, finished fifth in the 3rd preliminary heat with a time of 6:24.43, failing to reach the semifinals. The C Final for places 13-18 is scheduled for Wednesday, September 24, at 6:54 a.m. Greek time.