Rowing: Monaco Nautical Society quadruple sculls perform at the French J16 Championships in Vichy

Lake Allier in Vichy recently hosted the French J16 and Under 23 Rowing Championships, which brought together elite young rowers from all over France.

In the J16 quadruple sculls, the Société nautique de Monaco put in a very good performance, winning the bronze medal at the end of a very close final.

Lined up in the final in lane 2, Maxence Viry, Alban Marson, Louis Pastor and Adrien Colardelle perfectly controlled their course. After a solid start, the Monegasque boat stayed in contact with the Strasbourg leaders throughout the 1,500 m of the course, maintaining a sustained pace of 34 strokes per minute and, despite a good recovery in the last 250 meters, they were unable to catch the Strasbourg rowers who won and were pipped at the last minute by Bergerac for second place.

"We promised ourselves we would give it our all, from the first stroke of the shovel to the finish. We knew we could aim for the podium even if after the heats and semi-finals, the Strasbourg boat had proven superior. We are still a little disappointed because the silver medal was within our reach, but this bronze is still a reward for all the work accomplished throughout the year by both our coaches and us," confides Maxence Viry, the boat's head swimmer.

In the under 23 category, a lot was expected of the double composed of Geoffrey Guillon and Louis Fontanilli , but the final escaped them by a few hundredths of a second and it was necessary to wait until the last race which they won, which placed them in 7th place nationally.