By Rupert Guinness, Australian Rowing Teams Media Manager
The Rowsellas signed off on a successful 2026 World Rowing Championships campaign in Amsterdam on Sunday with the Men’s Eight winning a Bronze Medal in an A-Final that saw the first three crews better the World Best Time.
The Australian Rowing Team (ART) finished with five medals, with the Men’s, Women’s and Para rowing squads all contributing. With the Men’s Eight’s Bronze, Australia also won Silver Medals in the Women’s Four, Men’s Pair and PR1 Men’s Single Sculls and another Bronze in the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls.
From the 57 ART athletes from 13 boats, of whom 18 won medals, eight were also World Championship debutants. On Sunday night at an ART reception, they received the McVilly-Pearce Pin awarded to all rowers and coxswains after they first compete for Australia at Senior level at either an Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, World Rowing Championships, World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, Commonwealth Games or FISA Senior Championships. Each pin is specially numbered to uniquely commemorate each athlete’s debut.
The strong results of these World Championships reinforce the optimism of Rowing Australia (RA) in the future, in an international season that, two years into a rebuild of the High-Performance Program since the Paris 2024 Olympics, has celebrated consistent Australian success. That success has come from across the Senior Men’s, Women’s and Para rowing squads, the ‘Australia A’ team and Australian Under 19 and 23 squads run under RA’s Pathways Program.
This year, Australia has also won medals at World Cup I in Seville, Spain (2 Medals - 1 Gold, 1 Silver), the Holland Beker International Regatta in Amsterdam, Netherlands (5 Medals - 4 Gold, 1 Silver), World Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland (9 Medals - 2 Gold, 3 Silver, 5 Bronze), World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Duisburg, Germany (5 Medals - 3 Gold, 2 Bronze) in the best Under 23 performance in over a decade, and the World Rowing Under 19 Championships at Plovdiv, Bulgaria (2 Medals – 2 Bronze).
The World Rowing Championships are the 2026 pinnacle for the Rowsellas. Results from the regatta, and others throughout the year, have also provided RA a distinct indication that the ART is building well towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games, and beyond to Brisbane 2032.
"All the crews were magnificent and gave their all,” said RA Performance Director Paul Thompson MBE.
“They can be very proud with what they achieved. Eighteen rowers have come away from the championships with medals from five medal boats.
“The boats behind the medal boats were all competitive and we have built some very good momentum to take us into next year's LA2028 Qualifying regatta.
“The foundations laid since Paris are a real credit to Head Coaches Chris O'Brien, James Harris and James Loveday along with our dedicated Performance Support teams”
The team’s success in these World Rowing Championships and throughout the year also 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.
As Fergus Hamilton OLY, who raced in the Men’s Eight, said after winning Bronze: “Thanks to the generosity of Mrs Rinehart, we are able to live and train together full-time … and on our Olympic journey to LA in 2028, that is going to play a huge role in helping us get up those next two steps on the podium.”
In the Men’s Eight A-Final, the Bronze medal win by the crew (in order from bow to stroke and cox) of Rohan Lavery, Austin Reinehr, Alex Nichol, Jack Robertson OLY, Harry Manton, Fergus Hamilton, Patrick Long, Mitch Salisbury and (cox) Nicholas Dunlop, was Australia’s eighth medal in the Eights event since the first [also a Bronze] in 1983 at Duisburg, Germany and the first since 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia where Australia also won Bronze.
Six of the crew – Nichol, Robertson, Manton, Long, Salisbury and Dunlop – were in the boat that placed fourth at last year’s World Championships in Shanghai behind Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States in that order.
Two of the crew had medalled in the Eight at a previous World Championships - Lavery in the bow seat at Racice in Czechia in 2022 and Robertson in the five seat at Belgrade in Serbia in 2023, with both taking home a Bronze medal.
Nicolo Maurogiovanni, their coach since 2025, praised their commitment, saying: “Everyone in this boat has a story in their rowing career. So, to come together as one for this campaign and get a result at the highest level has been awesome. It is a real testament to their character as individuals and as a crew.”
The Australian crew booked their ticket into the A-Final three and a half hours earlier with an impressive Semi-Final win. They flew out of the start and led the race to the finish, pressed throughout by the United States. Behind them Romania and Italy fought for third place and the last slot in the A-Final.
Australia led by only 0.31s at 1500m but their advantage grew as they went on to win (5:23.71) from the United States (5:25.04) and Italy (5:25.09). Their time was third fastest among the six crews that made the A-Final, with the others being Netherlands (5:20.77), Great Britain (5:21.08) and Germany (5:25.88)
With both Semi-Finals being fast tight affairs, the scene was set for a brilliant A-Final that delivered in a blistering and nail-biting race that saw the first three crews – Netherlands, Great Britain and Australia – beat the World Best Time of 5:18.68, set by Germany in 2017. Netherlands, the defending champions, were first (5:17.75) to win the Gold Medal, with Great Britain (5:17.81) second to take home the Silver and Australia (5:18.28) in third to secure the Bronze.
Germany were fastest out from the start, but the race was still there for the taking at 1000m where the Dutch led over the United States and Australia.
At 1500m the Dutch led Australia by 0.77s, while Great Britain was up to third from fifth at 0.94s, setting the race up for a heart-stopping finale that eventually saw 0.06s separate first and second, and 0.47s between second and third.
Here’s what the Men’s Eight crew had to say about the A-Final:
Nick Dunlop, the cox, said: “We knew it was close and fast, that we couldn't let up for a single stroke. I had to stay proactive about that from my end and sort of read the race ahead of time. The race felt so fast, particularly the middle ‘K’. Then over that last 500m, the finish line couldn't come quick enough.”
Mitch Salisbury, the stroke seat, said: “We knew it was going to be a fast race. We had rhythm and good speed, and then we had good momentum coming into the line. So, it was just about trying to hold on to that and push on.”
Patrick Long, the seven seat, said: “A lot of us came in fresh last year, wide-eyed, but keen to learn. We took a lot from that, and with the expertise of some of the older guys we were able to take a big step on from not only last year, but World Cup III in Lucerne this year ... We have kept moving forward bit by bit and being confident in what we're doing and how we're going about it.”
Fergus Hamilton, the six seat, said because of the tailwind, they knew they would have “to go hard, then at halfway we'll be level and that we’ll have to go again; then in that last 500m just trust our work, trust what we’re doing.”
Harry Manton, the five seat, said: “This is a great step on from last year. The depth in this event is intense. We've improved a lot this year and still only moved on one spot. But it's a great step in the context of the 2028 Olympics.”
Jack Robertson, the four seat, said: “I’m so proud of these guys, with where they have come from in the last 12 months. We are already halfway through the Olympic cycle. So, of course, the silver lining is that [this Bronze medal] is motivating for next year’s Olympic qualification and then for the Olympics.”
Alex Nichol, the three seat, who felt both “elation” and “relief” with the result, said: “All we focussed on was our own belief that we were doing the right things … with the way we were rowing, time on water, and really finishing out our strikes, especially in these tailwind conditions, really helped us today.”
Austin Reinehr, the two seat, said: “It was so exciting. That's exactly what you train for, to be in the heat of the battle in such a tight race. It’s such a thrill. You get such a kick from it, especially up against the quality of other countries.”
Rohan Lavery, the bow seat, said: “We're the fastest Australian Eight ever and we still came third … [the standard of the Eights] is impressive. It was crazy coming into the line. I probably should have kept my head in the boat, but I was looking both sides and it didn't look like there was much in it the entire way.”
B-FINALS
On Sunday, the Rowsellas also featured in two B-Finals - the Women’s Eight and Tara Rigney OLY in the Women’s Single Sculls.
In the Women’s Eight B-Final, 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 produced a magnificent turnabout of performance to win.
The Australians reminded everyone that the result on Saturday where they missed out on the A-Final in the qualifier that was held as a time trial due to conditions was an anomaly rather than a sudden drop in form and condition.
From the start, the Australians led and soon had more than a length’s lead on the three other boats – Germany, Italy and China who trailed in that order by more than three seconds at 1500m. Despite their lead, Australia did not let off.
Australia threw it all into every stroke from there to the finish line to take an impressive (5:58.00) win from the still fast-finishing Italians (6:00.62) in second, followed by Germany (6:00.87) in third and China (6:13.93) in fourth.
Australia’s win gave them an official regatta ranking of 7th.
In the Women’s Single Sculls B-Final, Tara Rigney OLY - coached by Alfie Young – placed second, to finish the regatta with an overall ranking of 8th.
Germany’s Alexandra Foester (7:19.64) in Lane 1 won the race from Rigney in Lane 2 (7:24.09) and Ukraine’s Kateryna Dudchenko (7:25.50) in Lane 3.
The race was a tight affair between the first three scullers. Dudchenko leading early with Rigney about a canvas behind, but then with 1500m down, Foester pushed through from third place to pass them both before surging ahead to win.
Photo Credit: Patrick Boere Photography