Articles

World Rowing Development Programme shows sustained progress at 2026 Plovdiv Under 19 Championships

Plovdiv, BULGARIA

The World Rowing Development Programme supported 31 athletes (11 women, 20 men) and 15 coaches (6 women, 9 men) from 11 nations at the 2026 World Rowing Under 19 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Objectives of the Development programme

The World Rowing Development Programme at the WRU19 Championships aims to provide quality international competition opportunities for young athletes, strengthen cooperation between Member Federations, increase participation among young rowers, and support Member Federations in building their capacity to develop and promote Rowing. Through access to international high level events, coaching support and athlete development opportunities, the programme helps smaller Rowing nations gain valuable experience, improve performance pathways and create sustainable growth for the sport worldwide.

Plovdiv showcases progress of the Development programme at the World stage

The highlight of the regatta was an outstanding silver medal for Uzbekistan in the U19 Women’s Pair, following strong performances throughout the competition.

Youth show commitment and quality

Other positive performances came from Egypt and Moldova. The Egyptian Men’s Quadruple Sculls and the Moldova junior Mixed Double Sculls evidenced enormous quality and competitiveness in line with the best young athletes of bigger Rowing systems.

Beyond the results, athletes from Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, Georgia, Honduras, Moldova, Paraguay, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe gained valuable international racing experience and demonstrated clear progress throughout the championships.

Acknowledgements

World Rowing extends its sincere thanks to the Plovdiv Organising Committee and to Filippi for their outstanding support to the Development Programme teams in Plovdiv as well as to the coaching team of Gianni Postiglione, Vincent Tassery and Chrissa Biskitzi, together with local coordinator Stanislav Grigorov, whose dedication helped create a successful and memorable championship experience for all athletes and coaches.