This weekend saw the first rowing World Cup of the season take place in Zagreb, Croatia.

Two Blues from the ’22 Boat Race were taking part for their respective countries; Paige Badenhorst representing South Africa and Roman Röösli representing Switzerland.

Paige, having swapped her Cambridge oar for a pair of sculls was racing in a double scull with partner Katherine Williams and as you can see from the photo below they were all smiles with their result!

Paige Badenhorst and Katherine Williams at World Cup I in Zagreb, 2023.

Paige Badenhorst and Katherine Williams with their Bronze Medals at World Cup I in Zagreb, 2023.

A new unit for the South African team we’re certain they’ll have high hopes for this combination in the future after they raced well and came away with a bronze medal behind some experienced opposition from Switzerland and Austria.

Roman Röösli the two time Olympian who swapped a pair of sculls for a dark blue oar when he raced in the 2022 Blue Boat for Oxford appears to have picked up the sweep bug and with great success.

Roman Röösli and Andrin Gulich celebrate winning gold at World Cup I, Zagreb 2023.

Roman Röösli and Andrin Gulich celebrate winning gold at World Cup I, Zagreb 2023.

Teaming up with Andrin Gulich in a coxless pair Roman collected an impressive gold medal in what was a stellar performance for the Swiss team as a whole who currently sit top of the World Cup standings.

We look forward to a fantastic summer of racing with past, current and future blues racing all over the world. If you’d like to get updates on all the action, why not subscribe to our newsletter below.

Photos: Benedict Tufnell/Row360