First day of competition done

The first full day of competition at the EUSA European Universities Rowing Championship 2026 has come to a successful close at Lake Jarun in Zagreb, with student rowers from across Europe delivering a day full of exciting racing and strong performances.

The competition began in the morning with the first heats across several disciplines. In the Men’s M4x, Dresden University of Technology took the opening heat in 6:20.20, while Reading University won Heat 2 in 6:24.54. West Pomeranian University Szczecin claimed Heat 3 in 6:21.90, with the University of Zagreb finishing second in 6:26.39.

The Women’s W2- saw University of Paris win the first heat in 8:01.58, while Copenhagen University 1 recorded the fastest time of the two heats with 7:56.55.

In the Women’s W1x, University of Tartu, Semmelweis University and RIT Croatia won their respective heats. RIT Croatia delivered a strong performance in Heat 3, finishing first in 8:16.38.

The Men’s M2- heats brought another Croatian victory, with the University of Split taking Heat 1 in 7:07.83. University of Vienna won Heat 2 in 7:12.37.

The morning session also featured the Men’s M2x, where Vytautas Magnus University 2 and Vytautas Magnus University 1 won their respective heats. In the mixed M/W 8+ preliminary, University of Lorraine finished first in 6:56.94, while the University of Zagreb took third in 7:16.73.

The afternoon session continued with intense racing. In the Men’s LM1x, University of Technology of Compiègne, University of Porto and University of Hamburg won the three heats respectively.

The Women’s LW2x preliminary was won by The Queens University of Belfast in 8:05.07, while the Women’s W4xsaw the University of Zagreb take first place in 7:19.09, narrowly ahead of University of Lorraine.

In the Men’s LM2-, The Queens University of Belfast finished first in 7:33.57, followed by Szechenyi Istvan University and University of Bremen.

The Men’s M1x heats provided another series of close races, with victories going to HAS University of AS, University of Latvia and Reading University.

The afternoon continued with the W/M 4x preliminary, where Karlsruhe Institute of Technology took first place in 6:59.92, just ahead of Lyon Applied Science.

The day concluded with the highly anticipated Men’s M8+ heats. Oxford Brookes University won Heat 1 in 6:09.47, with the University of Zagreb finishing second in 6:10.95, just 1.48 seconds behind the leaders. In Heat 2, University of Tartu recorded the fastest time of 6:17.61.

With the first day of racing now complete, the championship has already delivered close finishes, strong performances and plenty of excitement on the water. The crews will return to Lake Jarun for another day of competition as the battle for places in the finals continues.

The championship continues tomorrow with another full day of racing.

Full results are available through the official EUSA Results platform and you can find all the photos HERE.