Great Britain Men’s Double place fifth after red-hot final at the World Rowing Championships

The Men’s Double Scull placed fifth in their first World Rowing Championships together. Josh Knight raced at a senior World Rowing Championships for the first time, and leaves ranked fifth in the world after a brave race with Matt Haywood.

Earlier in the day, Lauren Henry qualified for the semi-finals of the Women’s Single Scull after winning her quarterfinal against home-favourite Karolien Florijn, before the Men’s Pair and Women’s Double raced their B Finals.

After a delay in racing due to adverse weather, the semi-finals of the PR1 Men’s Single Scull took place well into the evening, with Benjamin Pritchard taking care of business, winning his race in style.

Through the opening stages of the Men’s Double Sculls final, the Dutch combination of Simon Van Dorp and Melvin Twellaar stamped their authority on the race. Serbia chased after them, leaving the British sitting a length down approaching halfway. After catching a crab in the third quarter, Knight and Haywood were left in a tussle with Belgium. The Belgian Sharks attacked and pushed the British into fourth place in the closing stages, before Spain slipped through, leaving the British to cross the line in fifth place as the Dutch won out on home water.

In the first race of the afternoon, Lauren Henry advanced through to the semi-finals of the Women’s Single Sculls. In one of the most anticipated matchups of the day, the 2024 Olympic Champion from the Women’s Quadruple Sculls lined up against Karolien Florijn, the home favourite and reigning Olympic Champion in this boat class. The Dutch sculler blasted out of the starting blocks and led by clear water in the opening stages. Henry dug in and chipped away at Florijn. As the scullers hurtled into the final 500m, the Leicester Rowing Club sculler took the lead, storming ahead into the loud embrace of the grandstands as Florijn cracked and settled for second.

“I was really excited,” said Henry in conversation with World Rowing.

“It was quite low-stakes because it was a quarterfinal, but both of us have got pretty good records, and we’ve always known that it’s going to be a bit of a match-up between the two of us. Everyone’s billed it as an exciting thing for us to race. There’s probably more to come from both of us. It’s still early on in the regatta; we’ve got another two rounds back-to-back, but it was very fun.

“I’m friends with Karolien; we did a coastal race in Monaco last year, so we’ve actually raced with each other before we’ve raced against each other. I was really pleased with it, but I think not just for me, but for her as well; every race is a new race and there’s probably a lot more to come for both of us. But I was very pleased with it.”

The Men’s Pair were back in action in the B Finals. Fergus Woolnough and Matt Aldridge worked their way through the field in the second quarter, and their bow carved itself into the lead after 800. Moving stroke for stroke with the Brits, were Greece. Woolnough and Aldridge led by 0.08 seconds at halfway, and 0.07 seconds with 500m to go. The stage was set for a thrilling finale. The rates went up, and the Greeks found some extra juice, winning out against the British Pair. Second in the B Final, Aldridge and Woolnough finished eighth overall at the World Rowing Championships.

“It was a good step on from the last race,” said Woolnough.

“I feel like we attacked it a bit more, which is what we came off the water in the last race wanting to do. It’s been a good step on, and I think it’s been a strong, fun project.

“We’ve stepped up from the first time we were racing in Lucerne to the last couple of camps, so I’d describe it as a successful project in that sense. Obviously, we weren’t in the race we wanted to be in, but I think we made the most of a not ideal scenario.”

Tight racing continued in the Women’s Double Sculls B Final. Sarah McKay and Cam Nyland hit the front of the race after 500m, but France, Germany, and the Individual Neutral Athletes were all within a couple of seconds through the middle of the race. As Germany moved through the French, Nyland and McKay also kicked on, consolidating their advantage in the closing stages of the race. The British would hold on, crossing the line first, finishing seventh overall in Amsterdam.

“We were really chuffed with that,” said McKay.

“We wanted to go and race our race, and I feel like we’ve been able to step on and solidify what we’ve done and what we’ve worked on. Winning the B Final was great, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

“I feel like it’s great to have a plan and execute it; the conditions were there for us as well. We worked really well together on the course, with the conditions, and off the people around us. For the first time, we’ve been able to utilise everything in that situation rather than thinking about technical points and managing the conditions. We had control of all the situations.”

In the PR1 Men’s Single, Benjamin Pritchard blasted out of the blocks with a length’s advantage over Italy’s Giacomo Perini. The Italian fought back over the next 250m, and led the Paralympic Champion at the first timing marker. After 750m, Pritchard retook the lead, cruising out to an unassailable clear water advantage. As the sun started to set on the Bosbaan, the European, World, and Paralympic Champion was in sparkling form as he punched his ticket for tomorrow’s A Final.

“It was good to finally get racing today,” said Pritchard, after weather delays meant racing was pushed into the evening.

“With weather delays and new times, it was a bit chaotic, but you stick to your processes, stick to the plan. We’re very grateful to have such a big support team at British Rowing that I didn’t have to worry about that; they did it all for me, and I followed the processes. A big thank you to the support team, and we go again tomorrow.”
Tomorrow is a busy programme of racing for Great Britain. Five crews will race in A Finals across the PR1 Men’s Single Scull, the Men’s and Women’s Four, and the Men’s and Women’s Quadruple Sculls. For the first time in this regatta, the Eights will take to the waters, and Lauren Henry will race in her semi-final.

“Lauren and Ben have both shown their class in today’s racing. Both of them laid down markers against athletes of the highest calibre and have given themselves a springboard for tomorrow,” said Interim Performance Director Tom Dyson.

“For the Women’s Double and Men’s Pair, both crews performed well in their respective B-Finals. You get a sense from these races how competitive the push for qualification places will be next season and it is good for the team to have strong markers for this.

“The Men’s double have shown their potential again this week by winning through the rounds and I’m sure today’s result will hurt for a while. However, it is for all of us to place this in the context of an exciting crew, with much to build on. There is a lot to reflect on positively from their time together so far.”

Follow the World Rowing Championships

Friday’s Results (28 August 2026)

The post Great Britain Men’s Double place fifth after red-hot final at the World Rowing Championships appeared first on British Rowing.