By Rupert Guinness, Australian Rowing Teams Media Manager
The Rowsellas claimed two more medals at 2026 World Rowing Championships on the Bosbaan course in Amsterdam on Saturday with Silvers being won in the A-Finals of the Women’s Four and PR1 Men’s Single Sculls.
And in the third A-Final that featured the Rowsellas on Day 6 – the Women’s Quadruple Sculls – a new-look Australia crew finished in a remarkable fourth place from the most challenging lane in the windy conditions that prevailed.
The Australian Rowing Team (ART) now goes into the seventh and final day of the World Rowing Championships with four medals, including the Silver won in the Men’s Pair and Bronze in the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls on Friday.
The ART could add one more medal to the four medals already claimed with Australia having also qualified for the Men’s Eight Semi-Finals on Sunday.
The World Rowing Championships are the 2026 pinnacle for the Rowsellas, but the event will also provide Rowing Australia (RA) with a key measure of how the ART is tracking for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The team’s continued progress 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.
Bronwyn Cox OLY, who raced in the two seat of the Women’s Four that won Silver on Saturday, said the ability to prepare and train to the level where performances like what the James Harris-coached Four produced in the A-Final is due to such support, especially from Mrs Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting.
The support has been instrumental to helping her, fellow West Australian Jacqueline Swick OLY and athletes from around Australia train full-time at the Hancock Prospecting Women’s National Training Centre in Penrith, Sydney.
“Moving to the centre with all the others wouldn’t be possible without having Mrs Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting’s support” Cox said. “With so many talented athletes across the country, being able to bring us together is why the squad is so strong. It gives us an extra edge to be more competitive all the time.”
A-FINALS
With Cox in the Silver Medal winning Women’s Four, were Giorgia Patten OLY behind her in the bow seat, Jacqui Swick in three and stroke Georgie Rowe OLY.
The race quickly became a three-way battle between Australia, the defending World Champion United States and Netherlands who flew out from the start to take an early but narrow lead they held with their high rating until 1000m.
The third 500m is where the race changed, with the United States leading at 1500m by 0.98s over Australia and 1.65s over Netherlands. Over the next 500m the positions remained the same, but not without the margins widening.
All three crews still bettered the World Best Time set in 2014 at the Bosbaan. The United States broke the mark by almost five seconds (6:09.87) to win Gold, while Australia (6:12.40) took Silver and Netherlands (6:13.74) the Bronze.
Swick, the three seat, said the race unfolded as expected: “We predicted the Dutch would come out harder at the start to stay with us in the middle. We knew the US would come through, and we would have contact in the middle.
“Our focus was our race plan, that the second ‘K’ was our ‘K’, and so long as we had contact with everyone through the middle [of the race], we would be fine. The US had that better edge at the end of it but well deserved by them.
Rowe, stroke of the Four, said the Silver not only reflected the crew’s strength, but that of the Women’s Squad that is progressing under James Harris who is Rowing Australia Women’s Head Coach as well as coach of the Women’s Four.
“I couldn't be prouder of the three girls behind me, and not just them, but the nine in the Eight, the four in the ‘Quad,’ the Pair, and the Spares,” Rowe said.
“It's a whole big team effort, and we are all pushing each other every single day, not just to be better rower, but to be better people.
“We're stoked at that performance and hope it represents our program well.”
Patten, in her first year back from a post 2024 Paris break, said she had prime viewing of the race from the bow seat, saying: “I absolutely did. I could see when we were moving on the Dutch slightly earlier than the girls ahead of me.
“I was in their ear, letting them know what I was seeing. I was calling, ‘It's working … It's working. We've got to stay calm … we've got to keep doing this.” And it just allowed us to carry that momentum all the way through.”
In the PR1 Men’s Single Sculls A-Final Erik Horrie PLY OAM, coached by Chris Holliday, won a Silver to complete a full set of World Championship medals since he switched from Wheelchair Basketball to rowing in 2011.
Horrie, 46, who won the PR1 Men’s Single Sculls in 2014 when the World Championships were last held on the Bosbaan, now has five Golds, one Silver and three Bronzes in World Championships and three Paralympic Silvers.
In Saturday’s A-Final, Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard (8:50.46), the reigning Paralympic Games champion and defending World Champion, won the medal race from Horrie (8:57.27) and Ukraine’s Romain Polyianski (9:01.38) in third.
Pritchard got away to an early and commanding lead, but the race behind was tight between Horrie, Polyianski and Italy’s Giacomo Perini who was second at 500m with Horrie. By 1000m Horrie was still third but now chasing Polyianski for second place. Then in the third 500m, Horrie’s time to work his way into second place began, and once he claimed it, he managed to hold it to the end.
“Being on the podium is unbelievable,” Horrie said. “As an athlete, you always want to win. We don't go out there to be second, third, or whatever. We always go out there to win, and for one athlete that happens. Today it was Ben.”
Horrie’s respect for Pritchard was evident. “I take my hat off to Ben. He's an unbelievable rower,” Horrie said, before adding with his trademark smile: “As an ‘old person,’ I'm just trying to keep him real, to keep chasing.”
Horrie also recognised the changes that have been made in his training, preparation and equipment, and the guidance of his new coach Chris Holliday.
“I'm happy compared to last year. It was a lot better race on my part,” he said, referring to the 2025 World Championships in Shanghai where he won Bronze.
“There's been a massive amount of change for me in the last six months.”
Asked to elaborate on those changes, he said: “The training massively, the boat set up – it was put on a boat rack and was completely stripped and changed.
“Probably the biggest part is just changing me as an athlete. Even though I've been in the sport for so long, one of the good things is that you can change. And I think this result here shows that the changes are moving in the right direction.
Asked what his coach, Holliday offers, Horrie said: “A new aspect of what I can do … that basically there are no boundaries of what I can do. Age is just a number. Just get out there, have fun … that's the part I'm showing now.”
In the Women’s Quadruple Sculls A-Final, the Jamie McDonald coached crew of Romy Cantwell, Jean Mitchell OLY, Annabelle McIntyre OAM OLY and Emily Sheppard produced a stellar performance that earned the plaudits of many, considering they raced in Lane 6 that was most disadvantaged by the wind.
The race was won by Netherlands (6:08.18) from Great Britain (6:09.78) and the United States (6:10.33) who were in Lanes, 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
The Australians, who only came together as a crew in July, never gave up. After passing through 500m in fourth place, they dropped to fifth at 1000m. But they responded to get back into fourth place at 1500m and hold fourth to the line.
OTHER RACES
Heats for the Men’s and Women’s Eights were run as a time trial due the lanes being deemed by the Fairness Committee as unfair due to weather conditions.
Racing over the course and against the clock one by one, crews that recorded the first two fastest times in their respective heats along with a set allocation of fastest times outside the first two qualified for the next round in their event – that being, Semi-Finals for the Men and the A-Final for the Women.
In the Men’s Eight, the Nicolo Maurogiovanni coached crew of Rohan Lavery, Austin Reinehr, Alex Nichol, Jack Robertson OLY, Harry Manton, Fergus Hamilton OLY, Patrick Long, Mitch Salisbury and (cox) Nicholas Dunlop made it through to Sunday morning’s Semi-Final in a fine display of rowing.
Australia recorded the second fastest time (5:30.19) from the four boats in the third of three heats behind the United States (5:29.99). Australia’s time was also the third fastest from the 12 of 13 boats that eventually qualified for the Sunday Semi-Final that will decide which crews make the A-Final a few hours later.
In the Women’s Eight, Australia needed a top two fastest time in their heat, or one of the next two fastest times outside first and second place in the two heats.
The Ellen Randell coached crew of Georgie Gleeson, Eliza Gaffney, Lily Alton OLY, Ella Bramwell, Samantha Morton Van Eybergen, Paige Barr OLY, Jaime Ford, Laura Gourley OLY and (cox) Hayley Verbunt OLY, missed out on a top two time they needed in the first of two heats to Great Britain (6:07.95) and Canada (6:10.07). Australia’s time (6:12.99) was also third in their heat, and one place outside the next two fastest from the two heats otherwise needed.
It was a tough outcome for the Australians who, as the 2026 World Cup Women’s Eight Champions, were rightly considered as one of the major contenders for the regatta. They will now race the B-Final on Sunday.
In the Women’s Single Sculls, Tara Rigney OLY missed out on the A-Final with a fourth place finish in her Semi-Final. She will also race Sunday’s B-Final.
The Semi-Final was won by Irish World Champion Fiona Murtagh (7:24.68) from Serbia’s Jovana Arsic (7:26.25) and Switzerland’s Aurelia-Maxima Katharina Janzen (7:29.00) in Lanes 1, 3 and 2 respectively.
Coached by Alfie Young, Rigney (7:33.69) in the more disadvantaged Lane 5, will now lean into the B-Final, looking for a strong performance to sign off on her first year back racing internationally since the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the Men’s Four B-Final, the Tom Laurich and Noel Donaldson coached crew of Nikolas Pender, Benjamin Canham OLY, Paddy Holt OLY and Benjamin Scott placed fourth, beaten in a photo finish for third place by Italy.
France (5:49.05) won the race from China (5:52.11) followed by Italy (5:54.72) and Australia (5:54.87) whose fourth place gave them a regatta ranking of 10th.
In the Men’s Quadruple Sculls B-Final, Hamish Danks, Johnson Daubney, Jackson Free, and Marcus Della Marta – coached by Nick Mitchell - placed second. Croatia (5:38.98) won from Australia (5:42.66) and China (5:43.17).
Australia’s strong performance also secured an event ranking of 8th.
Who’s Up for Australia on Day 7 – Sunday
10:12AM (6:12PM AEST)** – Men’s Eight Semi-Final 2: (b) Rohan Lavery, (2) Austin Reinehr, (3) Alex Nichol, (4) Jack Robertson OLY, (5) Harry Manton, (6) Fergus Hamilton OLY, (7) Patrick Long, (s) Mitch Salisbury, (cox) Nicholas Dunlop. Coach: Nicolo Maurogiovanni
1:08PM (9:08PM AEST) - Women’s Single Sculls B-Final: Tara Rigney OLY. Coach Alfie Young
1:13PM (9.13PM AEST) – Women’s Eight B-Final: (b) Georgie Gleeson, (2) Eliza Gaffney, (3) Lily Alton OLY, (4) Ella Bramwell, (5) Samantha Morton Van Eybergen, (6) Paige Barr OLY, (7) Jaime Ford, (s) Laura Gourley OLY, (cox) Hayley Verbunt OLY. Coach: Ellen Randell
**Note: The Men’s Eight A-Final is scheduled for 1:38PM (9:38PM AEST). The B-Final is scheduled for 1:03PM (9:03PM AEST).
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Photo Credit: Patrick Boere Photography