Bender town hosted the international royal rowing competition “Larisa Popova” that involved about 100 juniors from Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, IPN reports.

The women’s competition was won by Anastasia Sergienko and Elena Filina, who are both from Tiraspol. The four-member crew from Bender emerged victorious in the men’s competition.

Olympic champion Larisa Popova has headed the Moldova Canoe Federation since 2011. Since then the Moldovan canoeists have regularly taken part in international competitions. The pair Alexandru Masnic – Ivan Korshunov this year have ranked seventh in the 2 000-meter race at the World Rowing Junior Championships held in Lithuania. At the European Rowing Championships, Moldova’s four-member crew consisting of Alexandru Masnic, Ivan Korshunov, Alexandr Bulat and Sergey Odoianskii finished fifth.