World Cup III Lucerne Event Preview

The Swiss regatta is the most prestigious on the international calendar outside the Olympic and Paralympic Games and World Championships.

With most nations sending their strongest teams, the three-day event offers a crucial benchmark of championship form.

Rowing Australia (RA) has entered a strong contingent for this year’s regatta, a commitment that reflects the support from Hancock Prospecting and 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 globally.

RA also acknowledges the significant support from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), the 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.

RA will race 20 boats across 15 events from its Senior, ‘Australia A’ and Para rowing squads at Lucerne that will see 42 nations represented by 650-plus athletes and 275 crews in events for Olympic, International, and Para rowing boat classes.

Performances on the natural, sheltered and pristine Rotsee in Lucerne - also known as ‘The Lake of Gods’ - will determine RA’s final team selection for this year’s World Championships to be held at Amsterdam, Netherlands on August 24-30 that is scheduled to be named on July 24.

RA Performance Director Paul Thompson MBE is excited by what Lucerne offers with the assembly of four representative Australian squads.

"Lucerne will see four Australian Rowing Team squads coming together as one and will be the last opportunity to race before the World Championships,” Thompson said.

“We saw green shoots last year and have made progress since then as we build through this exciting Olympic cycle. This progression has been underpinned by the support of Hancock Prospecting and RA Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO, and we are grateful for their ongoing investment in our athletes.

“Lucerne provides us the opportunity to test and evaluate against our opponents before moving into the next phase leading up to the World Championships.

“The Women’s and ‘Australia A’ squads have already raced in Europe this season with success and that is a source of confidence for them as well as the Men and Para rowers who now start their European racing season.”

Photo: Patrick Boere 

Senior Women

The Women’s squad goes into Lucerne buoyed by their success at World Cup I in Seville where the Eight won the Gold Medal and the Four won Silver.

However, they know World Cup III in Lucerne will require a step up in performance, considering the calibre of opposition they will face.

RA Women’s Head Coach James Harris said the squad understands the challenge awaiting them and has prepared since Seville with that in mind.

“We're trying to increase our progress more than anybody,” Harris said.

“We got some good learnings off the back of Seville, as we would want to.

“We have put in place those learnings and will now see what we can do when we get to Lucerne.

“We sincerely thank Hancock Prospecting and our Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO for their support of our athletes, enabling them to compete on the world stage.”

An added gain from Seville was that the results showed that hard work pays off, and that has motivated the squad as training has ramped up since.

“Absolutely it has with the confidence and belief in what they're doing,” Harris said.

Winning is an objective for all crews at Lucerne, so prestigious is the regatta. But as Harris said, success can be nuanced.

Asked what he is looking for most, he said: “The main thing is that we get out of the racing what we've put in into the training.”

Lucerne is the last opportunity for the squad to be measured in boat classes against the competition it will face at the World Championships.

After Lucerne, the Women’s squad will return to Australia and resume its World Championship preparation at the Hancock Prospecting National Training Centre at Penrith, NSW.

“It's the last full race opportunity against [international crews] in boat classes,” Harris said of World Cup III.

“Then we've got eight weeks until the World Championships to move on from there.”

Lucerne also marks the return to racing of Olympic champion Annabelle McIntyre OAM OLY – a former Gina Rinehart AO Leadership Award recipient - after an interrupted post 2024 Olympics spell that included back surgery.

At Lucerne, McIntyre, who won a Gold Medal in the Four at Tokyo 2021 and Bronze in the Pair at Paris 2024, will race in the Women’s Single Sculls, as will another Gina Rinehart AO Leadership Award recipient, Tara Rigney OLY.

Harris said there is no pressure on McIntyre performance-wise, adding that her focus is on making steady progress with the long-term in mind.

“This is the first step for her in the process for getting back to being the world class athlete that she is,” Harris said.

Senior Women’s entries for Lucerne

Women’s Eight: (Aus 1) - (b) Georgie Gleeson, (2) Eliza Gaffney, (3) Lily Triggs OLY, (4) Ella Bramwell, (5) Samantha Morton, (6) Paige Barr OLY, (7) Jaime Ford, (s) Laura Gourley OLY, (cox) Hayley Verbunt OLY. Coach: Ellen Randell

Women’s Four: (b) Giorgia Patten OLY, (2) Bronwyn Cox OLY, (3) Jacqueline Swick, (s) Georgie Rowe OLY. Coach: James Harris

Women’s Pair: (Aus 1) - (b) Emmie Frederico, (s) Katherine Easton Coach: Xavier Dorfman

Women’s Quadruple Sculls: (b) Romy Cantwell, (2) Sarah Fahd, (3) Sara de Uray, (s) Emily Sheppard. Coach: Jamie McDonald

Women’s Single Sculls: Tara Rigney OLY. Coach: Alfie Young; Annabelle McIntyre OLY. Coach: Ellen Randell

Photo: Patrick Boere

Senior Men

Lucerne is the first international hit out for the Senior Men’s squad with five boats entered – the Eight, Four, Pair, Quadruple Sculls and Double Sculls.

Men’s Head Coach Chris O’Brien says the sweep squad is confident, despite an injury having forced changes to two boats – the Eight and Four.

Austin Reinehr’s unavailability for Lucerne (rib injury) prompted a reshuffle across the squad.

“Paddy Holt came into the Eight and Lachlan Doust into the Four,” O’Brien said.

“The Eight and Four will race with an alternative athlete into what was originally selected.”

O’Brien said the squad is keen to start racing after finishing preparation in Gavirate, Italy where they are based at the European Training Centre (ETC).

“The crews are eager to compete, and they continue to express their gratitude for Hancock Prospecting and Rowing Australia Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO whose support continues to help our athletes perform on the world stage,” he said.

Athletes also know that performances at Lucerne could play a key role in RA’s selection of the Men’s squad for the World Championships.

“It depends on what they deliver and what other people deliver,” O’Brien said.

“We’ve run plenty of scenarios around what that might need to look like, but until you have the final data you can’t make that final decision.”

Lucerne also represents another step in the development of a squad that is still discovering its potential with a view to LA2028 and Brisbane 2032.

“We’ve got to do a good job at Lucerne but not throw the baby out with the bathwater,” O’Brien said.

“There are lessons to be learned this year because next year, with Olympic and Paralympic qualification, you haven’t got that wiggle room for learning.

“We’ve got to be ready to qualify.”

Meanwhile, O’Brien said the men’s sculling program is in a rebuilding phase.

“We’ve prioritised the Quad this year rather than the Double,” he said.

“The focus has been on developing greater cohesion and technical consistency within the boat, with the coaching staff already seeing positive signs since selection trials.”

O’Brien said the crew has undergone a significant technical evolution and that RA had sought outside expertise to accelerate the process.

Olympic medal winning coach John Driessen has been working alongside national sculling coach Nick Mitchell to provide feedback on the crew.

Senior Men’s entries for Lucerne

Men’s Eight: (b) Patrick Holt, (2) Alex Nichol, (3) Jack Robertson, (4) Harry Manton, (5) Fergus Hamilton, (6) Patrick Long, (7) Mitch Salisbury, (s) Rohan Lavery, (cox) Nicholas Dunlop. Coach: Nico Maurogiovanni

Men’s Four: (Aus 1) - (b) Nikolas Pender, (2) Lachlan Doust, (3) Darcy Watter, (s) Jackson Kench. Coach: Noel Donaldson

Men’s Pair: (Aus 1) - Angus Dawson OLY, Alex Hill OAM OLY. Coach: Chris O’Brien

Men’s Quadruple Sculls: (b) Cormac Kennedy-Leverett, (2) Johnson Daubney, (3) Jackson Free, (s) Marcus Della Marta. Coach: Nick Mitchell

Men’s Double Sculls: (b) Oscar McGuinness, (s) Nicholas Blackman. Coach: Jamie Hewlett

 

‘Australia A’

Off the back of last weekend’s Holland Beker Regatta, the ‘Australia A’ team are optimistic of squaring up against a deep pool of international opposition in Lucerne.

The standard of competition will be much greater at Lucerne than what they experienced at the Holland Beker regatta at Amsterdam, but their performance was nonetheless impressive.

‘Australia A’ athletes have nothing to lose at Lucerne either, with the regatta being their last chance to push for World Championships selection.

At Holland Beker, the ‘Australia A’ team won five medals from the two days on the Bosbaan course where the World Championships will be held.

Holland Beker is one of the oldest and most prestigious international rowing regattas in Netherlands that attracts both national teams and elite club crews.

At this year’s Holland Beker, the’ Australia A’ Women’s Eight were a star feature at Amsterdam, winning Gold Medals on Day 1 and 2 to raise plenty of interest in how they will fare at Lucerne in a field that will include the Australian Senior Women’s Eight among many of the World Championships contenders.

The ‘Australia A’ Men’s squad also shone in Amsterdam winning Gold in the Four and Pair on Sunday and a Bronze Medal in the Pair on Saturday.

The ‘Australia A’ program began in 2024 and has created a stronger talent pool to select from – and in turn stronger crews. The program has also seen members go on to make Senior Men’s and Women’s teams in that same year.

The program allows RA to assemble the top athletes who have been studying outside of Australia, while also allowing its coaches and staff time to work with these athletes and align them to our principles.

The 2026 ‘Australia A’ squad, whose coaches are Scott Rowe (men) and Nadia Bleaken (women), includes athletes from a variety of pathways.

Two of the men are from the United States collegiate system – Under 23 medallists Benjamin Scott (Harvard University) and Alexander Baroni (University of California Berkeley).

Meanwhile, Alexander McClean, a member of last year’s Australian Men's Eight, returns from Cambridge University where he raced in and won the Boat Race for Cambridge over Oxford.

Four women also come from the US colleges – 2025 Women’s Eight member Sophie Houston (University of Washington), Under 23 medallist Sarah Marriott (Stanford University), Sophie Barr (Harvard University) and Star Rose Miller (University of California Berkeley).

The remainder of the ‘Australia A’ squad has been drawn from domestic programs around the country, including athletes who narrowly missed selection into this year’s Senior Team.

‘Australia A’ entries for Lucerne

Men’s Four: (Aus 2) - (b) Henry Blackwell, (2) Alexander McClean, (3) Ben Canham OLY, (s) Benjamin Scott. Coach: Scott Rowe

Men’s Pair: (Aus 2) - (b) Mackenzie Thompson, (s) Alexander Baroni. Coach: Scott Rowe

Men’s Single Sculls: (Aus 1) - Hamish Danks Coach: Nick Mitchell; (Aus 2) - Hamish Allan. Coach: Scott Rowe

Women’s Eight: (Aus 2) - (b) Sophie Barr, (2) Taylor Caudle, (3) Jean Mitchell OLY, (4) Gabriela Morton Van Eybergen, (5) Sophie Houston, (6) Sarah Marriott, (7) Caitlin McManus Barrett, (s) Star Rose Miller, (cox) Anna O’Hanlon Coach: Nadia Bleaken

Photo: Patrick Boere

Para rowing

Head of Para rowing James Loveday says the most important measure of success at Lucerne will not be results, but continued growth of Australia's Para rowing program.

Central to that development is the expansion of coaching resources around the PR3 squad, particularly the Mixed Coxed Four, as RA works to build greater depth, expertise and long-term sustainability within the program.

The PR3 category is a classification for athletes with physical, visual, or intellectual impairments who have functional use of their legs, trunk, and arms. These rowers can utilise the sliding seat to propel the boat.

Key to that expansion has been the appointment of Christine MacLaren to oversee day-to-day management of the PR3 centre in Canberra. Highly experienced former school coach Caroline Pijpers has also joined the national setup.

The added expertise has seen a more collaborative, effective environment.

“With this new-look team every boat has at least one coach, and most of the time they’ve got two or three people contributing to it,” he said.

The PR3 Mixed Coxed Four enters 2026 in a rebuilding phase, but Loveday says the crew has benefited from increased centralisation and support.

“We’re really at that point with a group of really good athletes who have a great approach to training, a commitment reflective of the support we receive from our Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO and Hancock Prospecting,” he said.

“They’ve all centralised in Canberra, they’re all doing the right things, and they’ve had the coaching support of Christine going through their lead-in.”

At Lucerne, podium performances are an ambition. But Loveday views this season as an important stage in the crew’s longer-term development.

“I really hope we can maintain the podium standards of the crews that got on the podium last year,” he said.

“And I’m hoping we can take the hard work of those rowers that have made it into the four and start to translate it into some experiences racing.”

The broader goal is to build a sustainable pathway towards LA2028 and Brisbane 2032.

“What we do over the next few years is going to be important in setting that program up for long-term success.”

The Para rowing sculling program features a new-look PR3 Mixed Double Scull of emerging athlete Ella Marshall and World Championship medallist Sam Stunell.

Since World Championship medallist Lisa Greissl’s retirement, Marshall has seized her opportunity, impressing with her speed and adaptability.

“She’s definitely brought something significant to that double with Sam Stunell,” Loveday said.

Australia’s PR1 Single Scull program has also received a significant boost through a partnership with the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS).

The PR1 category is for athletes with no or minimal trunk function. They primarily use their arms and shoulders to propel the boat. Because these rowers lack the abdominal and lower-body strength required for a traditional stroke, the category features distinct rules and equipment.

Former World Champion and Paralympic medallist Erik Horrie OAM PLY will race at Lucerne and has been progressing well under the guidance of Gold Coast coach Chris Holliday with support from the QAS.

Para rowing entries for Lucerne

PR1 Men’s Single Sculls: Erik Horrie OAM PLY.

PR3 Mixed Double Sculls: (b) Ella Marshall, (s) Sam Stunell.

PR3 Mixed Coxed Four: (b) Susannah Lutze PLY, (2) Toby Goffsassen PLY, (3) Mac Russell, (s) Wallis Russell, (cox) Hannah Cowap PLY.

PR3 Women’s Pair: (b) Susannah Lutze, (s) Wallis Russell.

Coaching team: James Loveday (Head Coach), Christine MacLaren (PR3 Lead Coach), Caroline Pijpers (PR3 Coach), Chris Holliday (PR1 Coach)

 

HOW TO FOLLOW 2026 WORLD CUP III – Lucerne: June 26-28

Follow the action across Rowing Australia’s social channels.

For all information on Live video streaming, race tracker, audio, timetable, entries and results, click HERE

For the regatta website, click HERE

 

WHO’S UP FOR AUSTRALIA – Day 1: Friday

Times for all races below denote start of Heat 1