Roman Polianskyi wins first World Cup of the year

Paralympic champion Roman Polianskyi confirmed once again why he is the world’s best as he won the first round of the 2018 Para Rowing World Cup held in Belgrade, Serbia, between 1 and 3 June.

The Ukrainian finished first in the PR1 men’s singles sculls with a time of 10:12.040. Great Britain’s Andrew Houghton (10:30.770) and Belgium’s Louis Toussaint (11:21.490) followed him into the podium.

Polianskyi had recently won the men’s single sculls race in a regatta in Gavirate, Italy.

Norway’s 2017 world champion and PyeongChang 2018 cross-country Paralympian Birgit Skarstein emerged triumphant in the women’s equivalent with a time of 11:17.320. Ukrainian Anna Sheremet (13:32.430) came in second.

The Netherlands claimed the remaining gold in the in the PR2 mixed double sculls through reigning world champions Annika Van der Meer and Corne De Koning, who clocked 8:42.13. The Ukrainian couple of Svitlana Bohuslavska and Iaroslav Koiuda (9:13.37) collected silver.

The second World Cup will take place in Linz Ottensheim, Austria, between 21 and 24 June.

Full results are available on World Rowing’s website.