Matija Rajković and Ognjen Ostojić win world U23 rowing bronze

Matija Rajković and Ognjen Ostojić won world under-23 bronze.

Matija Rajković and Ognjen Ostojić won bronze for Serbia in Duisburg. They finished third in the lightweight men's double sculls final. The result gave Serbia its only medal at the world U23 championships.

Germany won the race, while the French crew took silver. The Serbian pair stayed in the medal contest throughout the final. Their finish placed them among the three strongest crews in the discipline.

The Serbian boat remains in the leading group

Rajković and Ostojić began the final with a controlled stroke rate. They avoided losing contact while the first crews established their rhythm. The Serbian boat remained inside the fight for the medals.

Germany moved into the strongest early position. France followed closely and kept pressure on the leaders. Serbia concentrated on holding a clean line beside those two crews.

Lightweight double sculls demand exact timing from both athletes. A small difference at the catch can slow the complete boat. Rajković and Ostojić kept their movements connected during the middle section.

The crews behind Serbia tried to reduce the gap before the finish. The Serbian pair answered by lifting the pace together. Their boat remained ahead when the decisive final strokes began.

Germany crossed first and France secured second place. Rajković and Ostojić completed the podium for Serbia. The bronze reflected a race managed without a major technical error.

One medal from four Serbian crews

Serbia entered nine athletes across four boats in Duisburg. The lightweight double produced the delegation's podium result. Other Serbian crews reached finals and ranking races.

Mihajlo Dedić and Nemanja Luledžija competed in the men's pair. They won the B final and finished seventh overall. That result placed them just outside the main final group.

Danilo Đokić, Mateja Mitrović, Milan Cvetković and Predrag Cvetković formed the four. Their championship ended in fifteenth place. The crew gained several races against leading U23 programmes.

The Serbian double scull races on the Duisburg course.

Lazar Živanović represented Serbia in the single sculls. He finished eighteenth in the event's largest field. The single required him to manage every technical and tactical decision alone.

The lightweight double produced Serbia's only medal. Rajković and Ostojić reached the podium, while others contested ranking finals. Serbia left Duisburg with one medal and several complete race programmes.

The double succeeds through shared timing

A double sculls boat gives each rower two oars. Both athletes apply pressure at the same moment. Uneven work turns the boat and wastes speed.

Rajković and Ostojić maintained that connection when the final became faster. Their blade placement stayed clean during the closing attack. The boat therefore carried speed between strokes.

The lightweight category also requires careful preparation before racing. Athletes meet a defined weight limit while preserving strength. The medal followed both that preparation and the performance on the water.

The Serbian crew opened at a measured pace. It remained close enough to respond when the boats behind accelerated. That measured opening protected the final sprint.

The bronze belongs to the pair rather than one separate performance. Every change in rhythm required agreement inside the boat. Their shared timing kept Serbia in third place.

Serbia holds third through the final sprint

The U23 championships brought crews from leading rowing nations to Germany. The medal race therefore tested Serbia against a broad international field. Germany and France occupied the two places ahead.

Rajković and Ostojić now own a world under-23 medal together. Their double scull finished behind Germany and France in Duisburg. The Serbian crew protected third place during the final sprint.

The bronze became Serbia's leading result in Duisburg. It followed several days of heats, repechages and finals. The pair delivered its best result in the race that decided the medals.

Rajković and Ostojić prepare for the under-23 final.

Other Serbian boats completed their own championship routes. Dedić and Luledžija came closest to another main final. The four and the single added experience across different boat classes.

Serbia's final medal count in Duisburg is simple. Rajković and Ostojić earned bronze in the lightweight double sculls. Their controlled final placed the national flag on the podium.

Earlier rounds prepare the medal race

World championship crews reach the medal race through earlier rounds. Every start provides information about speed and technical balance. Rajković and Ostojić carried that work into the A final.

The pair needed to recover between races while preserving the lightweight limit. Food, hydration and rest all support the work completed in the boat. Those details remained part of the medal preparation.

Duisburg's course placed several events into a compact programme. Crews moved between warm-up areas, the start and recovery zones. The Serbian double handled that routine without losing race quality.

The final demanded a stronger closing section than a simple ranking race. Boats behind the medals had nothing to protect and attacked early. Serbia kept enough speed to answer their final effort.

Germany and France stayed ahead, but the bronze remained under pressure. Rajković and Ostojić did not change their technique during that pressure. Clean strokes protected the speed required for third.

The medal adds another Serbian result in the younger rowing categories. It came in the lightweight double scull at a world championship. Rajković and Ostojić earned it against the strongest boats in their age group.

The pair received their medals together after the final. Their coaches and support team joined them beside the Duisburg course. The Serbian flag appeared on the podium behind Germany and France.