Sep 9, 2023 at 1:49 PM Update: 23 minutes ago
The Dutch rowers are competing in the most successful world championships ever in Belgrade. The Dutch team won three gold and one silver medal for the first time on Saturday.
The men’s double sculls won the third gold for the Netherlands on Saturday afternoon with Lennart van Lierop, Finn Florijn, Tone Wieten and Koen Metsemakers. Earlier in the day there was also gold for the women’s four-without, with Marloes Oldenburg, Hermijntje Drenth, Tinka Offereins and Benthe Boonstra. Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester caused the biggest surprise by taking the world title in the pairs.
The women’s double sculls narrowly lost the gold to Great Britain. Roos de Jong, Tessa Dullemans, Laila Yousssifou and Bente Paulis finished half a second behind the British women, but did take silver. The Dutch men finished fourth in the four-without.
At the previous World Cup, last year in Racice, the Czech Republic, the Dutch team had to settle for one world title. Karolien Florijn was then the best in the single sculls. There were no fewer than eight silver medals for the Netherlands at the time.
In the run-up to the World Cup, technical director Hessel Evertse and national coach Eelco Meenhorst already indicated that they were fully committed to a large number of gold medals. It was better to have one gold medal than three silver medals, was their opinion.
Marloes Oldenburg, Hermijntje Drenth, Tinka Offereins and Benthe Boonstra took gold in the women’s four-without. Photo: Getty Images
Clevering and Meester ensure the first gold ever in two-without
The 28-year-old Clevering and the same old Meester achieved a time of 7.20.52 in the pairs. This meant that the Netherlands was well ahead of Australia (7.22.90) and Romania (7.24.33).
Clevering and Meester quickly took a lead in the final battle and never relinquished it. In the semi-finals, Australia was even faster than the Netherlands.
In May this year, Clevering and Meester finished second during the European Championships in Bled, Slovenia. They then had to tolerate Romania. It is the first time that the Netherlands has won the world title in the doubles.
The Netherlands has qualified for nine finals in the Olympic classes. The World Rowing Championships last until Sunday, so there may be more gold medals.
2023-09-09 13:45:09
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