Two young oarsmen from the Société Nautique de Monaco are set to compete under the French flag this summer, each heading to a different corner of Europe as part of the national youth rowing setup, Monaco-Matin reports.
First up is 19-year-old Hugo Albin, who will make his international debut in the coxless pair alongside partner Arthur Kim Gros at the Coupe de la Jeunesse, staged on Lake Rotsee in Lucerne, a course so revered among rowers it has earned the nickname “the temple of rowing.” Reaching this level hasn’t happened overnight for Albin, whose selection reflects a string of strong performances at national trials over the past year. For a rower stepping onto such a demanding stage for the first time, the primary goal in Lucerne is simple: soak up top-level international experience, and if the results align, come home with a medal from one of the sport’s most picturesque venues.
While Albin tackles Lucerne, Monaco’s rowing programme will also be represented further north, in Duisburg, Germany, where the U23 World Championships take place. There, Lucas Fauché returns to the world stage having already tasted podium success at this level, finishing third in the coxed four back in 2024. This time around, the 21-year-old will race in two disciplines, the coxless four and the mixed eight, with the four in particular expected to be a fiercely contested field.
Both selections trace back to the same source: the training programme at the Société Nautique de Monaco, which has increasingly positioned itself as a pipeline for French national youth rowing talent. Fauché, already an established name on the junior world circuit, and Albin, only now stepping into that spotlight, together illustrate just how deep Monaco’s rowing pipeline has become in recent years.
Image RR