2026 Australian & Oceania Beach Sprints Championships Day 1 Wrap

It’s been an enthralling start to the 2026 Australian & Oceania Beach Sprints Championships (AOBSC) at Currumbin Creek. With over 190 entries across 24 event categories, spanning underage, open and masters categories, this year's Championships brings with it plenty of racing action across four days.

Among those racing in the Championships are current and future Rowsellas, including athletes on the current High Performance pathway, a program that directly benefits from the continued support of Hancock Prospecting and Rowing Australia Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO.

Rowing Australia also acknowledges the vital support of the Australian Institute of Sport, the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Government and Commonwealth Games Australia.

The AOBSC, proudly supported by Event Partner Experience Gold Coast, commenced with time trials for the Open Men’s and Women’s Beach Sprint Solo categories. In the Men’s Beach Sprint solo, it was Oscar Scheel-Gamborg (Mosman, NSW) who secured the fastest time across the two time trials, recording a strong 2:30.66.

Eight rowers secured passage into the quarter finals – earned by finishing in the top four of either time trial. In the knockout stages, Scheel-Gamborg continued his good form winning his way into the A-Final, which included a nailbiting semi-final victory over Ben Pechan (Team Vanuatu) by just 0.24 seconds.

Samuel Forbes (University of Queensland) secured his spot in the A-Final with two strong performances in his quarter and semi-final races. He saved his best performance for last however, recording an incredible 2:29.30 in the A-Final to claim first place over Scheel-Gamborg by 6.52 seconds.

In the Open Women’s Beach Sprint Solo, the A-Final was a head-to-head clash between fellow Australian Beach Sprint Team representatives Isabella Scammell and Catherine Khan. Scammell and Khan both represented Australia in June this year at the Filippi Lido Beach Sprint Regatta, and showed their good form continued into the 2026 AOBSC claiming first and second-fastest times respectively in the time trials.

They continued their winning ways through the quarter and semi-finals, before meeting in the A-Final. On this occasion it was Scammell who went on to win gold, recording a time of 2:46.31 to beat Khan by 9.06 seconds who claimed silver.

In the Under 23 Mixed Beach Sprint Double Scull, Samuel Forbes was once again amongst the medals, claiming his second gold medal of the day, this time alongside Astrid Thomas.

Fastest in their time trial, Forbes and Thomas won through their semi-final before recording a time of 2:27.59 in the A-Final to claim gold over Liam Davis and Briar Froud (Fremantle) by 8.06 seconds.

The Masters Men's Beach Sprint Double Scull was won by Richard Edmonds and Edward Draydon (University of Queensland) over Nathan Couper and Andy Menzies (Surfers Paradise).

The excitement continues on Friday with the Under 23 Men’s and Women’s Beach Sprint Solo disciplines as well as the Open and Masters Mixed Beach Sprint Double Scull, finishing off with the trials to determine Australia’s Youth Olympic Games representatives!

How to Follow the 2026 Australian & Oceania Beach Sprints Rowing Championships

To stay up to date with the latest results from the AOBSC, visit the event page on Rowing Manager here.

For the latest event highlights, follow Rowing Australia’s social media channels.