Serbian national team members Martin Mačković and Nikolaj Pimenov won the silver medal in the men’s double sculls (M2x) discipline at the third Rowing World Cup, which was held past weekend in Lucerne (Switzerland).
In competition with 25 crews from 42 countries of the world, the Serbian double sculls once again confirmed that it belongs to the very top of the world, winning its second medal in this year’s cycle of World Cups, after the bronze in Seville.
After the qualifiers, victory in the semifinals, and an extremely exciting final in which they were in the fight for gold for most of the race, Martin Mačković and Nikolaj Pimenov summarized their impressions from the regatta for the Rowing Federation of Serbia and spoke about the continuation of the season.
Martin Mačković emphasized that the greatest value of the performance in Lucerne was the constant progress from race to race.
“From day to day, we improved. The first race is always the hardest because it is necessary to get into the rhythm of the competition, in the semifinals we significantly improved the impression, and the final was our best rowing this weekend. We are satisfied with how we rowed, even though we were very close to winning gold. In a way, it is good that we stayed hungry for victory, because that additionally motivates us for the continuation of the season. We are aware that we still have room for improvement, especially when it comes to technical details, but I believe we are on the right track. After the bronze in Seville and now the silver in Lucerne, we hope that we will take another step forward in the next biggest competitions.”
Mačković reminded that an extremely demanding competitive period awaits the national team.
“The schedule is very tight. Past weekend we rowed the Serbian Championship on Palić, now we finished the World Cup in Lucerne, soon we travel to the Henley Royal Regatta in England, and then follow the European and World Championships. Every competition brought us new experience and additional confidence. We are satisfied with the course of the season so far and believe that the best is yet to come.”
Nikolaj Pimenov assessed that the final race went almost completely according to the plan prepared by the expert staff.
“We knew that the British would open the race very strongly and would probably lead for the first thousand meters, which is what happened. Likewise, we expected that the Belgians would be extremely strong in the finish, especially in the last 200 to 300 meters. We tried to respond to their finish and we were very close, but this time they did not allow us to catch them. Regardless of that, we are satisfied with the won medal. We still have not reached the level of coordination we want, and that is precisely why we believe we have significant room for further progress.”
Pimenov believes that the World Cup regattas were valuable preparation for the most important competitions this year.
“From race to race we were getting better and I think that during this cycle we made a big step forward. We see more clearly what our advantages are, but also what we still need to work on. The World Cups were an excellent introduction to the season. Now the European and World Championships await us, where the competition will be even stronger, but I believe that we will be ready to respond to the greatest challenges.”
The satisfaction with the performance of the Serbian crew was also not hidden by their coach, the celebrated Serbian national team member Nikola Stojić, who assessed that the form grew exactly as planned.
“What particularly pleases me is the fact that each subsequent race was of better quality than the previous one. Exactly that kind of progress is what we wanted to see. The final in Lucerne was one of our best editions in this season. Of course we wanted the gold medal, but the Belgians rowed outstandingly in the finish and deservedly won. We leave Lucerne satisfied, with a silver medal, additional confidence, and a clear confirmation that we can fight on equal terms with the best world crews. Ahead of us are the European and World Championships, which represent the pinnacle of the season, and we enter that period extremely motivated and ready to continue with progress.”
With the silver medal in Lucerne, Serbia reached its third medal at this year’s World Cup regattas. Martin Mačković and Nikolaj Pimenov previously won bronze at the first World Cup in Seville, while Jovana Arsić triumphed at the second World Cup in Plovdiv, winning the gold medal in the single sculls discipline.
The Serbian senior national team members now face the most important competitions of the season – the European Championship, which will be held from July 31 to August 2 in Varese (Italy), and the World Championship, which is on the program from August 24 to 30 in Amsterdam (Netherlands), where Serbia will perform with three national crews that have already confirmed high international quality this year.
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Source: Dnevnik.rs, Photo: Printscreen Instagram @rowingserbia