Seventh Heaven: Jackson Free extends dominance as Queensland crews fire ahead of ARC26

Jackson Free etched another chapter into Queensland rowing history over the weekend, storming to his seventh-consecutive Open Men’s Single Scull championship title at the 2025-26 Queensland Rowing Championships at the Queensland State Rowing Centre.

Free crossed in 6:59.43, the only sculler under seven minutes in the final, securing the Arthur Baynes Memorial Trophy again and moving one step closer to the family record.

With Duncan Free’s streak of eight still ahead of him and the all-time mark of 11 wins the long-term target, Jackson admitted the ambition is very real.

“Once I hit nine [in a row], I’ll probably have a breather,” Free said.

“If I beat Duncs with nine in a row, I’d be happy… but it would be really cool to knock out twelve in a row and really lock it in.”

He admitted the pressure grows each year and that the familiar pre-race nerves hit just as hard at the state championships as they do on the international stage, a reflection of how much the event means to him and to his family.

His run to the final set up the moment. Free clocked 6:50.51 in his heat, his fastest row in the single across 2000 metres, and backed it up with a composed, controlled final where he separated early from a strong University of Queensland field.

The performance came despite landing at the championship in the middle of a heavy National Training Centre block.

“The week leading up to Queensland States was one of our bigger weeks at the centre,” Free said.

“I hoped I wasn’t going to be completely wrecked when I got up there, but it all worked out pretty well.”

Free also highlighted how valuable it was to finally race again, having largely been in training mode since the international season.

“We haven’t really touched race-pace since Worlds… so it was good to find some that high-rate stuff again.”

He added that the win gives him confidence heading into the centre's next block of trials and a potential tilt at the Open Men’s Single Steve Hinchy trophy at the 2026 Australian Rowing Championships (ARC26).

“Nationals [ARC26] is definitely on the scope,” Free said. “Like everyone else, I’d love to have a good crack there.”

Across three days, the Queensland Championships brought together school, club, and regional crews from all corners of the state, many of whom were racing off the back of hefty December and January training camps, and all with their eyes fixed firmly on strong preparations for ARC26.

Rowing Queensland CEO Anthea O’Loughlin praised the depth and energy of this year’s regatta.

“The standard of racing across the weekend reflected the depth of rowing in Queensland, from emerging junior athletes through to experienced open crews,” O’Loughlin said.

The event also welcomed Cox Coach, who delivered coxswain and coach masterclasses across the weekend.

“It was great to see our future coxswains connecting with Nick Dunlop and Charlie Durkin,” O’Loughlin said.

“On top of this, we had the team from Row Nation providing interactive sessions, with a leaderboard which was very popular with healthy competition between athletes and coaches.”

On the medals table, the University of Queensland claimed top spot with 15 golds, followed by Toowong and Kand, who continued to show the program depth that has been building over the past two seasons.

Free’s comments around the King’s Cup underlined just how much interstate rowing still matters in Queensland.

The King’s Cup, Australia’s blue-riband men’s Eights race and the final event of the Australian Rowing Championships, has not returned to Queensland since 1939.

For generations of Queensland oarsmen, including the Free family, the prospect of ending that drought has been a powerful driver.

Jackson grew up around King’s Cup stories: his grandfather Reg coached multiple Queensland crews; his father Marcus spent years in the state Eight; and his uncle Duncan became one of Australia’s most decorated oarsmen.

Now Jackson finds himself in the middle of the next chapter.

He spoke about the “chat at the [RBNTC] sheds” suggesting Queensland could challenge strongly this season, while still recognising that Victoria and New South Wales remain the benchmark.

With three Reinhold Batschi National Training Centre athletes now aligned to Kand and several U23 athletes emerging through the pathways, he sees a genuine opportunity for Queensland to put a serious Men’s Eight on the line at Lake Barrington in March and push for a result that edges the state closer to breaking an 87-year hoodoo.

“It’s still pretty early,” Free said of the likely Queensland crew make-up. “We’ve got three guys here [at the RBNTC] and then Patty [Holt] and a couple of under 23s that have just raced as well… we’ve got some good guys coming through. It’s pretty exciting.”

With crews sharpening up after summer camps and early-season racing, much of the field will next turn their attention to ARC26.

Several standout junior, club, and senior squads used Queensland States as a marker for where their form sits, and where it needs to go.

For Free, the goals are clear.

“It gives you a bit of confidence going into this next block,” Free said. “It’ll be one year at a time, but for now, the national title is definitely on.”