MELBOURNE, Fla. – Men's rowing's Domantas Marocka and Lithuanian teammate Paulius Cernevicius competed for their home country earlier this month in the men's double sculls competition at the 2021 European Rowing U23 Championships in Kruszwica, Poland. 
 
The pair posted a time of 6:31.18 in the opening heats and then earned a spot in the A-Final with a time of 6:33.94 to take second in their repechage. Then in the final, Marocka and Cernevicius posted a time of 6:30.34 to take fifth overall in the double scull competition.
 
"It is a great honor for me to represent my country at the World and European Championships," said Marocka. "There is no better feeling than representing your country.
 
"I am also very happy to be able to combine competing for Lithuania with my studies. Very few people can do that, and I am very thankful for Coach Jim Granger that he allowed me to come couple weeks late."
 
Marocka and his team had to overcome several obstacles ahead of the European U23 Championships, including switching boats just weeks before the regatta. 
 
"The process of the preparations before the U23 Championships was hazy," stated Marocka. "We trained to race in a quadruple scull, but two crew mates got sick a couple weeks before. After that, we had to hop into a double scull and get ready for the championships. 
 
"Our motivation was very low at that moment. However, when the competition started, we gained more and more confidence after every race. I am very happy to have achieved a very good result even though we did not have good preparation."
 
Marocka has years of experience representing Lithuania on the biggest stage. Three years ago, he was in Račice, Czech Republic competing at the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships in the quadruple sculls. His team made it to the C-Final and took fifth overall. 
 
Earlier this summer, he teamed up with Cernevicius as well as current Florida Tech freshmen Arnedas Kelmelis and Justas Kuskevicius in the men's quadruple scull competition at the World Rowing U23 Championships held in Račice, Czech Republic. The squad competed well against the best in the world and finished fifth in the B-Final at the regatta. 
 
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