#ARC25 Day Four Wrap – McGuinness delivers emotional Gold as SA sculling surges

By Nick Jones at the Lake Barrington International Rowing Course

On a day where small boat champions were crowned and Rowsella dreams nudged closer to reality, it was Adelaide Rowing Club’s Oscar McGuinness who stole the show on day four of the 2025 Australian Rowing Championships.

McGuinness stormed to victory in the Open Men’s Single Scull final in a time of 7:11.77, his first national title in the blue-riband event. It was a performance that will resonate far beyond the finish line. 

The former lightweight sculler surged through the field in the second half of the race to hold off a fierce challenge from Mercantile’s Dominic Frederico and Australian National University’s Hamish Harding.

“You’re going to have to give me a little while - it doesn’t quite feel real yet,” McGuinness said post-race. “Just… unreal.”

It was a result years in the making for McGuinness and his coach Nick Mitchell, the long-time South Australian Sport Institute (SASI) partnership now finding themselves at the top of Australian men’s sculling.

“That one means a lot,” McGuinness said. “Nick [Mitchell] and I share a pretty unique relationship. I hang a fair bit on him, and he gives it back. It’s all love at the end of the day. We work extremely well together.” 

It was also a meaningful response after last year’s disappointment at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta (FOQR) in Lucerne, Switzerland.

“I was a part of the sculling squad that went to FOQR, and we failed to qualify anything,” McGuinness said.

“So, if I can use myself to help push Australian men’s sculling back into the picture - whatever that means, if I’m stroking the boat or the reserve - I don’t care as long as we’re out there back on top of the podium.”

In the Women’s Single Scull, UTS Haberfield / HPNTC athlete, Rowsella Laura Gourley claimed her first Kim Brennan Trophy, holding off fellow Rowsella Bronwyn Cox (UWA Boat Club) to take Gold in 8:08.41. 

“It was a pretty tough second race,” Gourley said. “Bron gave me a good run for my money… It’s always good for the sweepers to jump in the scull and show off what they can do individually.”

Gourley was emotional about the milestone: “It’s really special… that’s my first trophy at ARC. It’s really special to have someone like Kim Brennan pass it down.”

In the Open Women’s Pair, Georgie Rowe (UTS Haberfield Rowing Club / HPNTC) and Emmie Frederico (Mercantile Rowing Club / HPNTC) executed a powerful race plan to take Gold in 7:31.55, narrowly holding off a strong finish from Eliza Gaffney (MUBC / HPNTC) and Jacqui Swick (Swan River Rowing Club / HPNTC).

“Wasn’t really a call, more intuitive, just drop the rate and get as many strokes in as possible at the end,” Rowe said. “The focus for us was the middle 1km… it was an awesome race.”

For Frederico, the win carried extra meaning.

“It’s my first Gold Medal ever at ARC,” she said. “I was telling G [Georgie] how much it would mean to me… I’m pretty excited. Pretty proud to be wearing it around my neck right now.”

The Women’s Pair result was made even sweeter for Frederico with her brother Dominic standing atop the podium just moments earlier.

“That was awesome seeing him up there,” she said. “He’s been working so hard in Adelaide with the other Adelaide sculling boys.”

In the Men’s Pair, UTS Haberfield / Mercantile Rowing Club / RBNTC athletes Nik Pender and Fergus Hamilton held on in a thrilling final 500m to claim Gold in 6:47.94.

It was a significant victory for the last-minute combination, who were only thrown together just over a week ago after Alex Hill OAM was ruled out with illness. 

“We just went through our race plan and trusted it would be enough,” Hamilton said.

“Came a little closer than we’d like, but we got there in the end.”

“Hopefully I did enough and got him [Fergus] the win,” Pender added.

“It’s going to be tough filling someone like Hill’s shoes… but I think I bring something different. We tried to row a bit longer and a little bit smoother. It was good fun.”

The pair’s chemistry will now be put on hold - at least until after the weekend.

With Sunday’s King’s Cup race closing in, the freshly minted Australian champions will go from crewmates to state rivals as they line up on opposite sides of the King’s Cup. 

“I won’t speak to Nik again,” Hamilton joked.

“That’s it. Friendship over,” Pender replied. 

Rounding out the day’s highlights, Sydney Rowing Club’s Flynn Wilkinson took Gold in the PR3 Men’s Single Scull, while Radford College’s Isobel Egan edged out Banks’ Rowsella Susannah Lutze to win the PR3 Women’s Single Scull.

With finals for the big boats still to come, Thursday’s racing proved one thing: Australia’s next generation is stepping forward - and fast.

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