Saturday racing at the Australian & Oceania Beach Sprints Championships delivered more intense action on the shores of Currumbin Creek. The Under 17 and Under 19 Men’s and Women’s Beach Sprint Solo categories were completed alongside the U19 and Open Mixed Beach Sprint Coxed Quad Scull events.
Among those featuring in today’s racing are current and future Rowsellas, including athletes on the current High Performance pathway, a program that directly benefits from the continued support of RA Principal Partner 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.
Day three of the AOBSC, proudly sponsored by Experience Gold Coast, started with the Under 17 and 19 Beach Sprint Solo categories, which showcased the coastal rowing talent that exists within this next generation of athletes.
In the Under 17 Women’s Beach Sprint Solo, Camilla Griffin (Canberra Girls Grammar, ACT) set the tone early in the event recording the fastest time in the time trials, before winning her quarter-final, semi-final and A-Final races all with times sub 3 minutes. Griffin’s consistency on the water paid dividends in securing the Under 17 Women’s Beach Sprint Solo title.
In the Men’s Under 17 Men’s category, South Australia’s Coby Keen (Adelaide University) emerged victorious in a gritty A-Final getting the better of Ethan Hu (Surfers Paradise, QLD).
Keen was third-fastest in the time trials behind Hu and Alexander Watt (University of Queensland, QLD) but steadily improved his times through the quarter and semi-finals to secure his A-Final spot. While his A-Final time of 2:43.40 was not his fastest of the day, it was enough to secure the win over Hu by 3.61 seconds.
In the Under 19 Women’s Beach Sprint Solo, Briar Froud (Fremantle, WA) claimed gold in an enthralling A-Final against Maddi McLaughlin (Surfers Paradise, QLD) by just 1.21 seconds, in a race that went down to the wire.
Froud’s time of 2:48.13 in the A-Final was her fastest of the day after qualifying second-fastest in the time trials to McLaughlin.
A second ACT rower claimed gold on Saturday with Canberra’s Harrison Braithwaite winning the Under 19 Men’s Beach Sprint Solo category. Second-fastest in the time trials, Braithwaite powered through his quarter-final and semi-final to face Benjamin Sands (University of Queensland, QLD) in the A-Final.
In the end it was Braithwaite who finished first in the head-to-head match up, recording a time of 2:32.96 to win by 6.61 seconds.
Having both secured gold medals in their Beach Sprint Solo categories, Harrison Braithwaite and Camilla Griffin then combined with Charlotte Bowen and Oliver Kent to win the Under 19 Mixed Beach Sprint Coxed Quad Scull.
The Open Mixed Beach Sprint Coxed Quad Scull was won by Sophia Wightman, Catherine Khan, Oscar Scheel-Gamborg and Jesse Rosin over Elizabeth Newell, Sally Kehoe, Monty Martin and Samuel Forbes.
The final day of the AOBSC promises to bring more excitement with Double Sculls racing featuring throughout the whole day across Under 17, Under 19, Open and PR3 categories.
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.
Photo Credit: Brad Redfern Photography