Serbia’s European Champions Mačković and Pimenov Headline International Composite Crew for Golden Oar
Back-to-back World silver medallists Martin Mačković and Nikolaj Pimenov join Germany’s Juliane Faralisch and USA’s Sophia Vitas for Golden Oar 2026
A genuinely international line-up is set to hit Lake Burley Griffin at Golden Oar 2026, with Serbia’s freshly crowned European Champions Martin Mačković and Nikolaj Pimenov teaming up with Germany’s Juliane Faralisch and the USA’s Sophia Vitas. Between them, the four bring back-to-back World Championship silver medals, multiple World Cup gold medals, and a historic Henley Royal Regatta win to the water.
Martin Mačković, a two-time Olympian (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024), has formed one of the sport’s most consistent partnerships alongside Nikolaj Pimenov in the double sculls, winning back-to-back World Championship silver medals in 2025 and 2026. Mačković added European Championship gold in 2026 and, together with Pimenov, delivered a historic first Serbian victory in the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta this year.
Nikolaj Pimenov, a Paris 2024 Olympian, shares that same back-to-back World Championship silver with Mačković, along with their 2026 European Championship gold and Henley Royal Regatta triumph. Pimenov also claimed his first-ever World Cup medal in 2025, winning gold in Lucerne alongside Mačković.
Sophia Vitas, a Paris 2024 Olympian in the double sculls, is a three-time World Championship bronze medallist — one in 2023 (Belgrade) and two more from a golden weekend at the 2026 Worlds in Amsterdam, in the women’s quadruple sculls and mixed double sculls. Vitas has also won three World Cup gold medals across her career, most recently in 2026.
Juliane Faralisch, a former Junior World Champion, reached two A finals at the 2026 World Championships in Amsterdam in the women’s quadruple sculls and mixed double sculls. Faralisch also won World Cup gold in the women’s quad in 2026, building on a strong European Championship campaign that yielded two silver medals in the same year.
This international pairing joins a rapidly growing field confirmed for Golden Oar 2026, alongside the Irish trio of Fintan McCarthy, Philip Doyle and Margaret Cremen racing in an Irish-Kiwi composite crew with New Zealand’s Ella Cossill, the trans-Tasman super crew of Lucy Spoors, Brooke Francis, Alex Hill and Angus Dawson, and Croatian legends Martin and Valent Sinković, who return to Australian water for a second year alongside Australian Olympians Tara Rigney and Laura Gourley.
Canberra’s premier international rowing festival, presented by Canberra Airport and hosted by Red Shed, takes place from 30 October to 1 November on the iconic waters of Lake Burley Griffin at Black Mountain Peninsula.
For more details, visit goldenoar.com.au or follow on Instagram
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