By Rupert Guinness at the Lake Barrington International Rowing Course
The 2026 Australian Rowing Championships (ARC26), presented by Events Tasmania, provided a thrilling display of big boat action on Saturday, especially in two of the marquee events – the Men’s and Women’s Open Coxed Eight Finals.
The waters of the Lake Barrington International Rowing Course were ablaze with high-speed big boat racing in all categories and classifications.
But the Men’s and Women’s Coxed Eight Finals were provided a teaser of what might be witnessed in tomorrow’s Interstates Championships in which number of crews who raced today will back up tomorrow for rowing’s answer to ‘State of Origin’.
And if the number of spectators at the Lake Barrington International Rowing Course on Saturday was any gauge, anticipation for tomorrow’s curtain call to Rowing Australia’s flagship event of the year and has this year has seen a record 2,100-plus athletes compete over the week will be nearing a crescendo before dawn starts.
Crowds have been building by the day this week, and Saturday was certainly no different as sunny and calm conditions prevailed and showcased Lake Barrington at its finest and allowing crews the opportunity to produce optimal performances.
The strong racing again reflected the deep talent pool in Australian rowing, and the impact of the continued support of Rowing Australia Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting to athletes from grassroot to high performance levels.
The Open Men’s Eight Final saw Sydney Rowing Club cap off a successful day that saw the club win several medals.
The crew’s Nicholas Dunlop said the crew had been fuelled by the success of other Sydney club crews throughout the week, and especially on Saturday.
Sydney won the race and Gold medal in 6:05.27, beating Silver medallists UTS Haberfield-NTC by 2.43. Third for the Bronze was Mercantile-VIS at 6.90.
“For the club this is always a big target,” Dunlop said.
“It’s nice to have a lot of people here from the club, a lot of crews racing and getting medals. The other [Sydney crews] set the tone for us early in the day.”
Dunlop, who will also steer NSW in the King’s Cup race in tomorrow, said the Sydney crew raced exactly as they had planned on Saturday.
Racing from Lane 3 Sydney was third at 500m, behind the leaders UTS Haberfield in Lane 1 and second placed Sydney University-NSWIS/NTC who finished fourth.
However, by 1000m Sydney was in front and held first place all to the finish.
“It went how we saw it unfolding,” Dunlop said. “We knew crews would get out hard, and that we would have to trust what we do in the middle.
“It was nice to make our back to them and have a strong third 500m.”
The Open Women’s Eight Final saw Melbourne University-VIS lead from start to finish to win from KAND-NTC/QAS and Sydney-ACTHP/NSWIS.
Melbourne University-VIS won Gold in 6:44.68, with KAND-NTC/QAS finishing second for Silver at 1.41 and Sydney-ACTHP/NSWIS third at 1.52 to take Bronze.
In the Melbourne University-VIS boat was 2021 Tokyo Olympics Gold medallist Lucy Stephan OAM OLY.
Stephan will back up for the Queen’s Cup, but as coach of the Victorian crew, adding lustre to a career that has seen her race in 11 winning Victorian Queen’s Cup crews.
Stephan’s smile after Saturday’s win was as much for her crewmates as herself.
“There's something so special about the group of girls we've got, and in the last five years there's been just such a train building and coming through,” Stephan said.
“They keep building what is so special about Melbourne Uni and about these girls.
“That race was all heart. It's so special when you're sitting there and you're like, ‘I don’t if I have the legs anymore,’ but I know I'm getting pulled along by seven incredible girls and an amazing person [the coxswain] yelling at me with all her heart.
“That's what you're rowing for, and I think it's meant to be fun, and we all start this sport because of the joy we feel and the sense of the belonging that we get.”
As for her future and a potential bid for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Stephan is still undecided.
“I've got a decision to make very soon,” Stephan said.
Meanwhile, the Open Men’s Quad Scull Final was won by the WARC-NTC/WAIS crew of Marcus Della Marta, Johnson Daubney, Jack Cleary OLY and Alex Rossi in 6:13.77 from Sydney University-NSWIS/NTC at 1.95 and Canberra-ACTHP at 23.87.
The Open Women’s Quad Scull Final was won by the MELBOURNE UNI-VIS crew of Zoe Bond, Zara Kfouri, Romy Cantwell and Sara de Uray in 7:15.69 by 1.00 from SYDNEY/UTS HABERFIELD-NSWIS and 6.16 from ANU-ANU-HPACT.
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