Brazil qualifies for the quarterfinals of the single sculls rowing at the Paris Olympics

One day after the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, Team Brazil has already shown that it is ready to win its first medals. This Saturday (27), the rowing team qualified for the quarterfinals in the men's single sculls category with Lucas Verthein, and in the women's category with Beatriz Tavares. Both finished the heats in third place.

Verthein continues his quest for Olympic gold

The competitions took place at the Nautical Stadium in Vaires-sur-Marne. In the men's single sculls, there were six heats over a 2,000-meter course. Brazilian athlete Lucas Verthein competed in the 4th heat of the day and finished in third place, with a time of 06:54.96, one second behind the American, Jacob Plihal, who came in second. The winner was Belarusian Yauheni Zalaty.

This is Lucas' second Olympics, having finished 12th in Tokyo 2020. In 2023, at the Pan American Games in Santiago, he won gold in the sport.

_{Lucas Verthein qualified for the quarterfinals of the single sculls (Photo: reproduction/Instagram/@Luiza Moraes/COB)}

Bia Tavares debuts on the right foot

Beatriz Tavares is competing in her first Olympics and is already reaping positive results. Competing in the same category as Verthein, the Rio native also competed in the 4th heat and with a time of 7:49.66, came in third place, automatically qualifying for the quarterfinals of the single sculls rowing. The winner of the heat was Lithuanian Viktorija Senkute and the runner-up was Tatsiana Klimovich, from Belarus.

The double Brazilian triumph guaranteed an automatic place in the next stage, which will be played on Tuesday (30), at the Náutico de Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium.

_{Beatriz Tavares is qualified for the quarterfinals of the single sculls (Photo: reproduction/Instagram/@Luiza Moraes/COB)}

Rowing in Olympic history

Rowing is a sport that dates back to human antiquity, as it was used as a means of transport by ancient peoples, such as the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. Its first official competition as a sport was in 1829, at the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, but debut at the Olympic Games took place in 1900, also held in France.

This year, there will be seven disciplines: double sculls, lightweight double sculls, single sculls, quadruple sculls, two-sculls without a coxswain, four-sculls without a coxswain and eight-sculls with a coxswain. There will be fourteen events over eight days of competition, with 502 rowers, both men and women. Brazil is seeking to win its first Olympic medal in the sport.

Featured photo: Team Brazil rowers, Beatriz Tavares and Lucas Verthein (Reproduction/Instagram/@Luiza Moraes/COB)