For the second year in a row, the World Rowing Beach Sprints Finals will be held in Italy, the birthplace of the discipline, this year in the port city of Genoa on the Ligurian Riviera. The first event of the Los Angeles Olympic cycle, this event has attracted a phenomenal 35 entries from all six continents as they will fight it out for the highest award in the sport. With exciting, close racing guaranteed all weekend, this is not one to miss.
New Zealand
At the 2023 World Rowing Beach Sprints Final, the Kiwi duo of Jackie Kiddle and Matthew Dunham completed their sets of medals from the event. They had won bronze and silver together in the mixed quad in 2022 and 2023, and in a tight finish, they claimed the gold in the mixed double. This impressive row comes from two of New Zealand’s star lightweights, with Dunham having previously been on the brink of qualifying for the men’s double for Tokyo, while Kiddle was world champion in the lightweight double in 2019 and finished just off the podium in Paris. Making the transition to the waves, the well-funded New Zealand coastal setup has the opportunity to head home from Genoa with a very healthy medal collection, and this crew will be looking to defend their title and lead the charge.
Spain
As close to a veteran as can exist in this youthful event, Spain’s Ander Martin has competed in the mixed doubles at every world finals so far. This year, he is rejoined by Esther Briz Zamorano as they reunite the partnership that won the gold medal in 2021 and 2022. While Martin has remained primarily focused on the coastal disciplines, Briz Zamorano has balanced it alongside her classic rowing commitments as she skipped the event last year to focus on preparing for Paris, where she would finish seventh in the pair. Without her, Martin lost in the quarterfinals at last year’s world finals and finished fourth in the European Championships, but back together, they will look to rediscover the spark that left them unbeaten in this event for two years.
Netherlands
When the entry lists were released for the racing in Genoa, this crew immediately caught the eye. The combination of siblings Finn and Karoline Florijn is potent. Three years ago in Tokyo, Karolien won silver in the four while 21-year-old Finn was selected in the single sculls. Three years later, in Paris, Finn won gold in the quad while Karolien moved into the single and was undefeated all Olympiad. Uniting in the beach sprints discipline will be a new challenge for the siblings, but they have more than enough ability to scull to overcome any potential skill deficiencies and make it deep into this competition. The question will be if they can go all the way and avoid any mistakes through the lengthy competition.
Great Britain
The British entry in this event remains the same as the crew that won the silver medal last year. The Glasgow-based combination of Laura McKenzie and Sam Scrimgeour have established themselves as the leading faces in British beach sprint rowing after one or both took home the gold medal in every event at the national championships in August. Their success has continued this season as former world champion Scrimgeour and recent graduate McKenzie won another silver at the European Championships in June. In addition to some more silvers at non-championship coastal events, they will be looking to take the final step on the global stage and hoping that their focus on the discipline will be rewarded as they face up against many who prioritise flat water.
Lithuania
Another crew that seems to have turned its focus to the coastal scene is the Lithuanian double of Dominykas Jancionis and Martyna Kazlauskaite. Both are regulars on the classic rowing national team in the Baltic nation, with Jancionis having raced in Rio and Tokyo but has not raced in the discipline all season, while Kazlauskaite has been on the waves since the European Rowing Championships in April. They took to the event very quickly, with their first appearance at a major international beach sprints event at this year’s European Championships, ending with them taking home the crown. They will attempt to replicate that form on the global stage, and with a few months of additional training, they may put a spanner in the works in the narrative of Olympic medallists against the established beach sprint stars.
Italy
Another previously unknown crew that made a splash in Poland at the European Championships is the Italian duo of Silvia Tripi and Federico Ceccarino. This crew does not have many notable classic rowing results on the international stage, with Ceccarino representing his country as a junior and Tripi having never donned the Azzurri. Instead, they have developed through the blossoming beach sprint scene in Italy, winning the right to represent their country at the trials. At their first opportunity, they won bronze at the European Championship, gaining statement victories over France and Spain. On home shores, they will be looking to shock the world again and keep the medals in Italy.
Germany
The most well-known name in the German team in Genoa comes from Karl Schulze, the Olympic champion from London and Rio in the men’s quad, who, after missing out on the A-final in Tokyo, made the switch to beach sprints rowing. In his first outing at the 2022 World Finals, he underperformed in the time trial and missed out on the knockout racing in the men’s solo. Instead, in 2023, he worked to improve his performance to win bronze in the same category at the European Championships and finish fourth at the world finals. This year, he has moved across to the mixed double for the world finals and is joined by Annika Steinau, a younger athlete with less international experience in classic rowing who has been in the mixed quad for the last two years. If Schulze can match his rise in performance in the discipline, he may be in with a chance of a deep run in the event.
Romania
With boats in the World Beach Sprint Finals for the first time following the confirmation of the discipline being added to the Olympics in 2028, the Romanians have sent a strong contingent. This crew, made up of two members of their Olympic squad, is headlined by Roxana Anghel. This is a remarkable achievement, and she was joined this weekend by Florin Bogdan Horodisteanu, who raced in the men’s quad. This is the first beach sprint event for both of the crew, and they hope that their flat-water performances can transfer across the country. There will be an additional challenge for Anghel as she has never raced in a sculling boat internationally, but with the wealth of talent in this boat, there will be hope that these challenges can be overcome.
Tunisia
Like many other nations, the Tunisian entry into this event comprises two lightweight rowers. The first, Khadija Krimi, is one of the team’s most experienced members; she made her Olympic debut in Rio at 21 in the lightweight women’s double before racing again in the same events in Tokyo and Paris. She also has a fair level of experience in beach sprint, having raced in four events across the last three years, each time losing in her quarterfinal matchup. This year, she is joined in the double by Ghaith Kadri. Like Krimi, he is a lightweight rower, having competed in the single at the last three senior World Rowing Championships, but unlike Krimi, he is far newer to beach sprint, having never raced internationally in the discipline. With such a tough entry, making the quarterfinals would possibly be an achievement but if they are to break the run of consecutive losses once they get there, it will be quite a surprise.
Ukraine
The final Paris Olympian in this event is Ukraine’s Darya Verkhogliad, who finished fifth in the quad after qualifying through the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. The established rower, who has been part of the senior team in Ukraine since 2014, will be making her first appearance in an international coastal race after her quad pulled out of the coastal endurance racing last weekend. Alongside her is Mykola Mazur, who claimed the world title in the men’s quad last weekend in his first race on the waves. On the classic water, he was part of the men’s four all-cycle but fell short of qualification for Paris. A new target of his season emerged, and if he could take to the beach sprinting as fast as he took to the long-distance coastal rowing, this crew could be one to watch.
Prediction
The three or four crews at the top of this preview range from beach sprint specialists to some of the world’s best flat-water rowers. Given the difficulty of comparing those groups, any one of the four could consider themselves favourites. However, if I were forced to pick one, I would back the Spanish combination to continue their unbeaten record in this lineup.
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