2026 World Rowing Championships Day 3 Review | Rowsellas Men’s Pair and PR3 Mixed Double Sculls charge into A-Finals

By Rupert Guinness, Australian Rowing Teams Media Manager

The Rowsellas continued to build momentum at the 2026 World Rowing Championships on the Bosbaan course in Amsterdam on Wednesday, with three more boats progressing to the next stage of competition.

Day 3 saw the Men’s Pair and PR3 Mixed Double Sculls boats both secure places in Friday’s A-Finals after second-place finishes, while Tara Rigney OLY advanced to the Women’s Single Sculls Quarter-Finals with a third-place finish.

Their progress on Wednesday in headwinds that challenged all crews means the Australian Rowing Team (ART) has now secured places in three medal races, with the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four having also qualified for Thursday’s A-Final through its Heat on Tuesday. There are also opportunities for the ART to still add to that tally of A-Finals through the remaining Heats and Semi-Finals.

The World Rowing Championships are the 2026 pinnacle for the Rowsellas, but the regatta will also provide Rowing Australia (RA) with a measure of how the ART is tracking for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The team’s upward trajectory in these World Rowing Championships reflects months of planning, preparation training and racing, supported by a high-performance system that continues to benefit from the longstanding commitment of Hancock Prospecting and RA Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO.

RA is also incredibly grateful for the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Australian Sports Commission (ASC), and Australian Government, whose investment and support enables athletes and coaches in RA’s High-Performance Program to perform on the world stage and represent Australia with pride.

For Angus Dawson OLY who, with Alexander Hill OAM OLY, raced in the Men’s Pair that placed second in their Semi-Final on Wednesday to make the A-Final, getting the opportunity to race a World Rowing Championship A-Final - and hopefully win a medal - is a direct consequence of such support.

“We're so lucky to have the great coaches and support staff we do, and the resources in the background to get us to these special moments,” Dawson said.

“That’s thanks to Mrs Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting, Rowing Australia and all our partners who provide us with the resources we need to do it.

“It makes it simple for us to go out there on race day and do the best we can.”

In their Semi-Final, Dawson and Hill who are coached by Chris O’Brien, delivered a much-improved performance than what characterised their heat.

“We didn't have the race we were looking for in the heat,” Dawson said.

“We went back to basics, worked on some of the stuff we've been working on throughout the year, and we were able to stay a bit more relaxed there.”

The race, in which the first three made the A-Final, was won by the World Champions from New Zealand (6:39.99) – Ben Taylor and Oliver Welch - who led from start, with Australia second (6:41.84), and Romania (6:43.11) third.

Australia was third behind the US and Romania at 1000m but then passed Romania in the third 500m to be second at 1500m. In the last 500m, Australia then repelled two big pushes by Romania to hold their position to the finish.

“That was more due to what we were doing through the middle of the race,” Dawson said. “We set a bit more of a long and loose foundation through the middle thousand; so, it means that when you get into that last bit of the race, you are in a slightly better position not to panic and step on when we need to.”

Asked what area of their race he and Hill will work on before the A-Final, Dawson said: “The start would be a bit of a focus. In both races, we've been left behind a little there, but we set ourselves up better in the start today.

“We're not trying to blast out, but get a start in those first five strokes that keeps us with the field better. Then we can make more impact through the middle.”

Earlier, in the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls the Christine MacLaren coached crew of Ella Marshall and Sam Stunell drew Lane 1 in the second of two heats and established their strong position early to also book a place in Friday’s A-Final.

With only the first two going into the medal race, Germany and Australia powered away early in that order and left the other crews long in their wake.

Germany won (7:47.44) by 6.18s over Australia (7:53.62) in second, followed by China (8:20.41) in third at 32.97s.

For Marshall, the occasion of her debut in a senior World Rowing Championships was not lost, let alone the positive outcome to her first race.

“I took a moment at the start to reflect on where we have come from … There is nothing like pulling on the green and gold,” Marshall said.

“Never, in my life, did I think that I would be here. So, to be here right now is just amazing and everything from here is a bonus being on that start line.”

Looking ahead to the A-Final, Marshall said: “We will sit down tomorrow and have a chat. But we're happy with how we executed our plan. You've always got an extra gear to go up to when the adrenaline starts kicking a little bit more.”

Stunell concurred with Marshall, saying: “We are very happy with how we executed our race. To get that top two to get into the A-Final was great for us.

“We felt we rowed very well and left enough in the tank for Friday.”

Stunell, who raced the Mixed Double Sculls to a Bronze in last year’s World Championships at Shanghai with the now retired Lisa Greissl, lauded Marshall.

Tuesday’s Heat was their third race as a crew, the first two being in June at World Cup III Lucerne in the Heat and A-Final where they won the Bronze.

“It’s been amazing. Coming together at the start of the year, it was raw at first; but Ella has done a great job in being able to sit behind me and gel,” he said.

“It’s been great. We just hop in the boat and do what we do best.”

In the Women’s Single Sculls, Tara Rigney OLY, in Lane 1 in the first of five heats, needed a top two finish to automatically make the Quarter-Finals, or be one of the next 14 fastest finishers outside second place to qualify.

Coached by Alfie Young, Rigney - a former Gina Rinehart AO Leadership Award recipient - was chasing a top two spot from the start as Denmark’s Frida Sanggaard Nielsen set the pace up front to lead at 500m. The Dane was followed by Romania (Bianca-Camelia Ifteni), Italy (Anna Sarah Sophie Souwer), Ukraine (Kateryna Dudchenko) and then Rigney in that order.

Rigney, coming back from a year away from rowing, managed to fight back into third place by 1500m behind Nielsen and Dudchenko who were then placed first and second respectively. But the four seconds between her and Dudchenko was too far to take second place from her.

Nielsen won (8:02.81) from Dudchenko (8:03.23) with Rigney (8:10.59) third and comfortably one the 14 fastest finishers to make the Quarter-Finals.

“There were a lot of good learnings,” Rigney said. “One of the things I've been working on is my ability in headwinds, but the reality of our sport is that you row all conditions. There is much to think about and digest after that race.

“I'm really looking to improve and send a message in the quarters because I know I can step up from that. I was potentially a little too conservative out of the blocks and was then playing catch up for the remainder. I was probably a little too short on the length through the middle. Then the rate came down.”

In the Women’s Pair, Emmie Frederico and Katie Easton, coached by Xavier Dorfman, placed fifth in their Semi-Final, needing a top three for the A-Final.

In Lane 5, the Australians managed to fight their way into third place by 1000m after going through 500m in sixth position, but then they were overtaken by Czechia and Germany - in Lanes 2 and 1 respectively - in the last 500m.

The United States, in Lane 3, came from behind to win (7:25.01), pipping France (7:25.85) on the line, while Czechia (7:27.89) was third, ahead of Germany (7:29.74), Australia (7:32.99) and Croatia (7:37.57) in that order.

Frederico and Easton will now race in the B-Final on Friday.

In the Men’s Double Sculls, the Jamie Hewlitt coached crew of Oscar McGuinness and Nicholas Blackmam finished with a strong performance in Wednesday’s C-Final, placing second off a strong second 1000m. Their result earned them a World Rowing Championship ranking of 14^th for the event.

Poland won (6:32.01) from Australia (6:35.05) who came from third place at 1000m to pass China who were also swept up by Moldova (6:36.46) for third.

Who’s Up for Australia on Day 4 – Thursday

1:36PM (9:36PM AEST) – PR1 Men’s Single Sculls Heat 2 – Erik Horrie PLY OAM. Coach: Chris Holliday

3:25 PM (11:25PM AEST) – Women’s Four Semi-Final 1: (b) Giorgia Patten OLY, (2) Bronwyn Cox OLY, (3) Jacqueline Swick OLY, (s) Georgina Rowe OLY. Coach: James Harris

3:40 PM (11:40PM AEST) – Men’s Four Semi-Final 2: (b) Nikolas Pender, (2) Benjamin Canham OLY, (3) Paddy Holt OLY, (S) Benjamin Scott. Coaches: Tom Laurich and Noel Donaldson

3:47PM (11:47PM AEST) – Women’s Quadruple Sculls Semi-Final 1: (b) Romy Cantwell, (2) Jean Mitchell OLY, (3) Annabelle McIntyre OAM OLY, (s) Emily Sheppard. Coach: Jamie McDonald

3:57PM (11:57PM AEST) – Men’s Quadruple Sculls Semi-Final 1: (b) Hamish Danks, (2) Johnson Daubney, (3) Jackson Free, (s) Marcus Della Marta. Coach: Nick Mitchell

5:40PM (1:40AM AEST) – PR3 Mixed Coxed Four A-Final: (Cox) Hannah Cowap PLY, (b) Susannah Lutze PLY, (2) Toby Goffsassen PLY, (3) Cormac Hayes, (s) Wallis Russell. Coaches: Caroline Pijpers, James Loveday

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Photo Credit: Patrick Boere Photography