Great Britain has named 47 athletes to race at the 2026 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
This is the first time since 2014 that the Championships have been raced on the Bosbaan, and Amsterdam is set to welcome the world with open arms. This year’s World Rowing Championships play a key role in the preparation for the Games in Los Angeles. Both the Olympic and Paralympic squads are two years out from flying to the west coast of America, but next year’s regatta will be the all-important Championships, where boats qualify ahead of LA 2028. This means that the World Championships at the end of August offer vital racing experience at the highest level for the whole squad to revel in and benefit from.
The team is announced with just a few days left before the 2026 European Rowing Championships. Varese, Italy will prove to be a useful testing ground for the Women’s Squad and the Paralympic team, as they finalise their preparations ahead of the trip to Amsterdam.
While several of the crews raced at Henley Royal Regatta, the last time Great Britain took on the world was World Rowing Cup III, in Lucerne, Switzerland. At the end of June, Great Britain topped the medal table, winning six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.
12 years ago, when the World Rowing Championships were last in the Netherlands, Great Britain were second on the medal table. Along with wins in the W2- and M8+, the men’s four of Andrew Triggs Hodge, George Nash, Mohamed Sbihi and Alex Gregory were clear winners on that occasion.
This year, one of the standout crews heading into the World Rowing Championships will once again be the Men’s Four. The crew of Dan Graham, James Robson, Douwe de Graaf and George Bourne have gone unbeaten throughout 2026, having won both World Rowing Cups I and III. The 2025 World Rowing Championships was where they set the world alight, having burst onto the scene in Shanghai, winning their first world title as a crew.
Lauren Henry will once again race in the Women’s Single Scull. The Paris 2024 Olympic Champion in the Women’s Quadruple Sculls made the switch to the smaller boat class at the beginning of the new Olympiad. Last season culminated with a silver medal in Shanghai, but this year she has been undefeated at both World Rowing Cup I and III, as well as winning the Princess Royal Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.
Benjamin Pritchard, BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year, will be back to defend his world title from last year in the Men’s PR1 Single Scull. The reigning European, World, and Paralympic Champion is currently in Varese getting set to race the European Rowing Championships. Pritchard put on a masterclass on the Lake of the Gods, winning World Rowing Cup III by 15 seconds, momentum he’ll look to carry into both the European and World Rowing Championships.
The Mixed PR3 Coxed Four will see two changes from the outfit that won last year in Shanghai. 2024 Paris Paralympic Champions Frankie Allen and Josh O’Brien are back in the flagship boat and welcome Molesey BC’s Charlotte Coburn and England International Jonty Ridley to the crew. The new-look combination will be steered by fellow Molesey BC member Omar Al-Miqdadi. The five of them will race for the first time this season in Varese as they continue preparations for the trip to Amsterdam.
The backbone of the Women’s Quadruple Scull will come from three Olympic Champions. Lola Anderson and Hannah Scott won gold in this boat at the Paris Games, while Imogen Grant is reigning Olympic champion for life having won in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls. They’re joined by Finn Stratton who made her senior debut in Seville. While Amsterdam will be Stratton’s first senior World Championships, she won gold in the U23 Women’s Quadruple Sculls 12 months ago. The Women’s Quad have seen different variations race this season; however, Scott, Anderson, Stratton, and Grant won gold in Lucerne before backing up that performance on the hallowed Henley waters, winning the Princess Grace Challenge Cup.
There will be no changes to the Men’s Quadruple Scull that conquered the world in Lucerne a few weeks ago and will be looking for revenge against the Italians that pipped them at Henley Royal Regatta. Cedol Dafydd, Callum Dixon, and Tobias Schröder will all be back in action on the Bosbaan. Dafydd, Dixon, and Harris all featured in the crew that won silver in Shanghai, while Schröder made the switch from the Men’s Double Sculls last season.
Speaking of the very same boat class, Josh Knight and Matt Haywood have been selected in the Men’s Double Sculls. The two of them raced together for the first time in Lucerne, coming away with an impressive fifth-place finish, having won their heat and semi-final.
Much like the Men’s boat, the Women’s Double Sculls combination of Sarah McKay and Cam Nyland is unchanged from World Rowing Cup III. The duo were third in the B Final and will also be looking forward to the European Rowing Championships where they can put into practice the month’s training that has been woven together since returning from Lucerne.
The Women’s Eight provided a golden curtain call in Lucerne, and there is one change to that line-up that left as winners. Eve Stewart is back in the boat she won bronze in at last year’s World Rowing Championships, as well as the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The combination of Stewart, alongside Amelia Standing, Lauren Irwin, Heidi Long, Megan Slabbert, Lizzie Witt, Katherine George, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox Jack Totten recently won the Remenham Challenge Cup, beating Team Italia in the final, and will race the European Rowing Championships as part of their preparations.
The Women’s Four is another crew that will race unchanged. Holly Youd, Sarah Marshall, and Angharad Broughton are all set to make their debuts at a senior World Championships. Broughton raced in this boat class at the 2023 U23 World Rowing Champs, while Youd won gold in the Women’s Pair two years ago at U23 level. The quartet won bronze in Lucerne after placing fourth in Seville and will look to keep up that momentum as they tick off the European Rowing Championships this weekend.
The Men’s Eight is also unchanged from the combination that won silver in Lucerne and lifted the Grand Challenge Cup. The Men’s Eight have been inching ever closer to the reigning World Champions, the Netherlands, all season, placing second at both World Rowing Cup I and III. Will Stewart, Matt Rowe, Gabriel Obholzer, Sam Nunn, David Bewicke-Copley, Harry Geffen, Miles Beeson, Archie Drummond, and cox Tom Bryce now head to the home ground of their biggest opponents, looking to spoil the Dutch parade.
The theme of consistency across the Men’s sweep boats continues into the Pair. Fergus Woolnough and Matt Aldridge had their first campaign together in Lucerne and left placing eighth overall. The two will race together again, this time at the World Rowing Championships.
Lauren Carey and Jade Lindo will join the team in Amsterdam as reserves, with the potential to race in the Women’s Pair. This is subject to final selection.
“This year’s World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam will provide a significant test of the progress we have made since the 2025 World Championships in Shanghai,” said Interim Performance Director Tom Dyson.
“As one of the sport’s leading nations, the Netherlands will relish the opportunity to compete on home water, while every nation will be looking to make a statement as we reach the halfway point of the Olympic and Paralympic cycle.
“Selection for the World Rowing Championships is a defining milestone in any athlete’s career and a privilege that reflects the dedication required to earn the right to wear Great Britain’s red and blue hooped vest. Those selected have demonstrated they deserve that honour through their commitment, teamwork and performances throughout the season. They should be immensely proud of their achievement and excited by the opportunity ahead as they enter the final phase of their preparations for Amsterdam.”
The GB Rowing Team to race the World Rowing Championships
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four
Frankie Allen (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Charlotte Coburn (Molesey BC)
Jonty Ridley (Durham University BC/Hexham RC)
Josh O’Brien (Molesey BC)
Omar Al-Miqdadi (cox) (Molesey BC)
Coach: Nicola Benavente
PR1 Men’s Single Scull
Benjamin Pritchard (City of Swansea RC)
Coach: David Breen
Men’s Eight
Will Stewart (Newcastle University BC)
Matt Rowe (Kingston RC)
Gabriel Obholzer (Cambridge University BC)
Sam Nunn (Oxford Brookes University BC)
David Bewicke-Copley (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Harry Geffen (Oxford University BC)
Miles Beeson (Leander Club)
Archie Drummond (Leander Club)
Tom Bryce (cox) (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coach: Steve Trapmore
Men’s Four
Dan Graham (Leander Club)
James Robson (Cambridge University BC / Leander Club)
Douwe De Graaf (Leander Club)
George Bourne (Leander Club)
Coach: Christian Felkel
Men’s Pair
Fergus Woolnough (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Matt Aldridge (Christchurch RC/Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coach: Christian Felkel
Men’s Quadruple Sculls
Cedol Dafydd (Leander Club)
Callum Dixon (Twickenham RC)
Tobias Schröder (Leander Club / Oxford University BC)
Rory Harris (Leander Club / Reading University BC)
Coach: Richard Chambers
Men’s Double Sculls
Matt Haywood (Nottingham RC / Burton Leander RC)
Josh Knight (Minerva Bath RC)
Coach: Dan Harris
Reserves: Adam Oliver, Theo Bell, and Cameron Beyki
Women’s Eight
Lizzie Witt (Leander Club / Imperial College BC)
Megan Slabbert (Molesey BC)
Amelia Standing (Oxford University BC)
Katherine George (Leander Club)
Lauren Irwin (Leander Club / Durham University / Chester-le-Street ARC)
Eve Stewart (Leander Club)
Heidi Long (Oxford University BC / Leander Club)
Annie Campbell-Orde (Marlow RC/Leander Club)
Jack Tottem (cox) (Leander Club / Oxford University BC)
Coach: Andrew Randell
Women’s Four
Sarah Marshall (Oxford University BC)
Eleanor Brinkhoff (Leander Club / Dundee University BC)
Angharad Broughton (Molesey BC)
Holly Youd (Molesey BC)
Coach: Brian Young
Women’s Pair
Lauren Carey (Leander Club)
Jade Lindo (Molesey BC / Twickenham RC)
*Subject to final selection
Women’s Quadruple Sculls
Lola Anderson (Leander Club / Newcastle University BC)
Hannah Scott (Bann RC / Leander Club)
Finn Stratton (Reading University BC)
Imogen Grant (Cambridge University Women’s BC)
Coach: Darren Whiter
Women’s Double Sculls
Sarah McKay (Grosvenor RC / Leander Club)
Cam Nyland (Leander Club)
Coach: Helen Taylor
Women’s Single Scull
Lauren Henry (Leicester RC)
Coach: Andrew Randell
Reserve: Becky Wilde
Team Management and Support Staff
Team Leader – Tom Dyson
Team Manager – Jo Bates
Boatman – Maurice Hayes
Head Coach, Women – Andrew Randell
Head Coach, Para – Nicola Benavente
Head Coach, Men – Paul Stannard
Men’s Coach – Richard Chambers
Men’s Coach – Christian Felkel
Men’s Coach – Steve Trapmore
Men’s Coach – Dan Harris
Para Coach – David Breen
Women’s Coach – Brian Young
Women’s Coach – Helen Taylor
Women’s Coach – Darren Whiter
Physiotherapist, Men – Stephen Greenan
Physiotherapist, Women – Beatrice Caitas
Physiotherapist, Para – Marie Grant
Sports Scientist – Gareth Turner
Sports Scientist – Lizzie Jacobs
Doctor – Ann Redgrave
Media – Anna Bloomer
Media – Fergus Mainland
The post Great Britain announces team for the 2026 World Rowing Championships appeared first on British Rowing.
