PLOVDIV – Croatia's junior men's quadruple sculls crew completed its appearance at the World Rowing Under 19 Championships in Bulgaria. In a strong field on the Plovdiv regatta course, the young Croatian crew placed fourth in the B final to secure tenth place overall.
Croatia raced with Roko Mijić (VK Neretvanski gusar), Šime Ravnjak (VK Korana), Petar Hrkać (VK Jarun) and Karlo Svirčić (VK Krka), under national team selector and coach Zlatko Katušin. The same crew placed sixth at the European Championships in May.
A major battle in the B final
Saturday morning brought the race for places seven through 12 in the world. Croatia delivered a composed and technically solid performance, crossing the finish line in 5:58.38.
The race was fast and close from the start. Croatia was sixth after the opening 500 metres, moved into fourth by halfway and was fifth again at the 1,500-metre mark. The final position was decided over the last 500 metres, when Croatia passed South Africa and held fourth place by 0.23 seconds.
The United States won the B final and secured seventh place overall in 5:54.26. China was second in 5:55.00, while third-placed Belgium held its advantage over Croatia in 5:57.48.
B final standings:
- United States – 5:54.26
- China – 5:55.00
- Belgium – 5:57.48
- Croatia – 5:58.38
- South Africa – 5:58.61
- Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) – 6:06.35
Among the world's top ten
A place in the A final and the medal race remained out of reach, but Croatia finished among the world's top ten junior men's quadruple sculls crews in a field of 18. Made up of rowers from four Croatian clubs, the crew followed its sixth place at the European Championships with another strong international result.
For our rower Roko, Plovdiv brought further experience in Croatian national team colours and another important step in his rowing career. Congratulations to Roko, the entire crew, coach Zlatko Katušin and the Croatian national team's coaching staff.
Full race results are available on the official World Rowing event page.
