Martin and Valent Sinković took third place in the double sculls semifinal and will row for a medal at 11:34 on Saturday. The Croatian four was the fastest in its heat and will race the final at 12:47.
On the first day of the European Rowing Championships in Varese, Italy, brothers Martin and Valent Sinković secured a place in the A final of the double sculls. After morning qualifying and an afternoon semifinal, the Croatian crew will chase another major championship medal on Saturday at 11:34.
As reported by Zagreb.info, the Sinković brothers opened the competition with second place in their qualifying heat. Their time of 6:15.90 was only 72 hundredths of a second slower than the Belgian crew, which earned them direct qualification among the 12 best European double sculls crews.
In the semifinal, they took control from the start and held the lead at the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre marks. In the closing stages, however, they were overtaken by the crews from Serbia and Spain. Serbia won in 6:08.14, Spain finished second (6:09.15), and the Sinković brothers crossed the line third (6:09.60), 45 hundredths of a second behind the Spanish. Although they did not win, third place was enough for the A final.
"Well, we've done two races and made it to the final. That's the goal for today accomplished. It wasn't easy; they were two tough races, but we definitely didn't go all out in either one. Still, we saved a bit for the final, and tomorrow is the easiest race. We know we have to go full throttle from start to finish, and mentally that will be easier," Valent Sinković told Zagreb.info.
Martin Sinković added for the same portal that the races were not easy, but they only wanted to get through: "We're satisfied with our rowing. We can't wait for tomorrow's final and we're looking forward to it."
From the second semifinal group, the Czech Republic, Romania and Italy secured their places in the final. The Sinković brothers will therefore face crews from Serbia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Romania and Italy in the battle for European medals. The double sculls A final is scheduled for Saturday, 1 August 2026 at 11:34.
According to Kamenjar, the Croatian four consisting of Goran Mahmutović, Roko Bošković, Damir Martin and Ivan Talaja also secured a place in the final. They were the fastest in their group with a time of 5:42.83, ahead of Germany (5:43.57) and the Czech Republic (5:43.80). The four final is scheduled for Saturday at 12:47.
Patrik and Anton Lončarić in the pair and David Šain in the single sculls failed to reach the semifinal. The Lončarić brothers finished sixth in their qualifying heat with a time of 6:39.08 (the fastest were the Italians in 6:21.13), while Šain was last in his heat with 7:00.78.
