Holland Beker Regatta Day 2 | Australia Wins Gold, Gold, Gold

Drifting weed on the Bosbaan course where the 2026 World Rowing Championships will be held in August 24-30 again impacted the performance of many crews, including those of the ‘Australia A’ team.

But on Sunday, the ‘Australia A’ team still managed to win three Gold Medals - in the Men’s Pair, Men’s Four and Women’s Eight – to add to the Gold and Bronze Medals that they won on Saturday in the Women’s Eight and Men’s Pair respectively to finish the regatta with a medal tally of five.

For the ‘Australia A’ squad members who are predominately graduating students studying abroad, the Holland Beker Regatta was the first opportunity to be considered for the World Championships team, with World Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland on June 26-28 the next opportunity. Rowing Australia (RA) will name the World Championships team on July 24.

The value of having both an ‘Australia A’ and Senior squad on the international stage to not only select from for the World Championships but also lay the foundations for LA2028 and Brisbane 2032 is a shining reflection of RA’s high-performance program that is underpinned by more than a decade of unwavering support from Hancock Prospecting and enduring commitment of RA Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO. From trials to crew selection, and the big stage of international competition, Hancock Prospecting’s investment plays a pivotal role in enabling Australian crews to prepare, perform and succeed against the world’s best.

RA also acknowledges the significant support from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and the Australian Government through Minister for Sport Anika Wells, whose investment enables athletes, coaches and programs to perform on the world stage and represent our nation with pride.

Commenting on Day 2 of the Holland Beker Regatta, RA Performance Director Paul Thompson MBE said: “The most pleasing part of today's racing and results was the way the crews learnt from yesterday’s races and were able to deliver when it counted in today's finals.

“They can all now look to next week's World Cup with confidence as they move into the most competitive World Cup of the season where the racing will be faster and the fields deeper.”

On Sunday, Australia A’s first Gold was in the Men’s Pair by Henry Blackwell and Benjamin Scott who raced in the Men’s Four on Saturday.

Blackwell and Scott made the A-Final by winning their heat. They led through 1000m, fell to second place at 1500m but finished strong for first place.

Behind the Australians whose winning time (7:05.20) was the fastest of two heats were Uliege (78:14.89) in second and Maas Bremer (7:21.95), third.

In the A-Final, they did not let anyone back into the fray as they did in the heats and won (7:08.37) from Uliege (7:11.15) followed by Brazil (7:16.07).

Benjamin Scott and Henry Blackwell at Holland Beker. Photo: Patrick Boere 

 

In the Men’s Four, ‘Australia A’ boated a re-jigged crew of Mackenzie Thompson, Alexander Baroni, Ben Canham OLY and Charles Batrouney.

Baroni and Canham won Bronze in the Pair on Saturday and joined the Four when Blackwell and Scott agreed race the Pair on Sunday instead.

While regarded as a favourite on Sunday, the new ‘Australia A’ Four still had to fight back into the top three of their heat to make the A-Final.

The trigger for their late charge home from sixth place was fired when their boat caught weed soon after 1000m when they had a comfortable lead.

Racing in Lane 4, the Australian boat suddenly slowed. They lost steerage, causing them to veer across two lanes into Lane 6.

After discarding the weed, they fought back to finish third (6:34.88) behind the heat winners, Netherlands (6:33.77) and Mercantile (6:34.47).

With their A-Final ticket booked, the question then was how they would recover from their big heat effort in time for the medal race four hours later.

If there were any doubts, they quickly silenced them from Lane 6 in the A-Final where they jumped away to lead and make the race their own.

Their lead grew to more than a length in the race that saw them win (6:23.96) from Uruguay (6:27.32) and RG Marburg composite (6:30.36).

The 'Australia A' Men's Four produced a strong final race to win gold. Photo: Patrick Boere

 

In the Women’s Eight, the ‘Australian A’ crew that won the event on Saturday were in a class of their own in winning back-to-back Golds.

Unlike Saturday where the event had heats and an A-Final, Sunday was a straight final with the two biggest threats to Australia on Saturday – Aegir and Netherlands – not entered. ‘Australia A’ still put on a class display.

The crew of Sophie Barr, Taylor Caudle, Jean Mitchell OLY, Gabriela Morton Van Eybergen, Sophie Houston, Sarah Marriott, Caitlin McManus Barrett, Star Rose Miller, and (cox) Anna O’Hanlon led from the start to win (6:31.95) convincingly from Melbourne University Boat Club (7:03.73) in second, St Edwards School (7:05.86) third and Denmark (7:22.85) fourth.

The Women's Eight celebrates back-to-back wins at Holland Beker. Photo: Patrick Boere

 

Other Sunday races

The ‘Australia A’ crew of Hamish Danks and Hamish Allan placed second in the second heat of the Men’s Double Sculls to earn a spot in the A-Final. Denmark 2 (7:01.10) won from Australia (7:07.75) and Orca (7:12.74).

In the A-Final, they placed fourth (7:13.76) from Lane 2 behind the winners from Germany (6:51.41) Denmark 2 (7:00.02) and Skadi (7:03.75).

Danks and Allan also raced in the Men’s Single Sculls minor finals.

Danks won the C-Final (7:37.17) beating scullers from the Dutch Theta club (7:39.55) and Denmark (7:55.90) after being fourth at 1000m and second at 1500m before winning. Meanwhile, Allan was fifth the D-Final.

In the Women’s Single Sculls, Grace Sypher, the Australian Senior Women’s Sculling Spare, placed fifth the C-Final after weed issues.

 

Catch up on the Holland Beker Regatta

Revisit all the action across Rowing Australia’s social channels.

For all entries, draws and results, click HERE

For live streaming click HERE

To view the ‘Australia A’ Team click HERE