Weekend Wrap: Ontario Rowers Compete at World Coastal Champs
A big two weeks in the coastal rowing discipline began over the weekend as the 2024 World Rowing Coastal Championships took place in Genoa, Italy.
The event ran from Sept. 6-8 at San Nazaro Beach and featured athletes from around the world competing in the endurance-fueled regatta. The competitors raced in either 4km or 6km races around a course of buoys in open water in men’s, women’s and mixed solos, doubles and quads. Several Ontario rowers represented Canada at the event including coastal veterans Sarah Pidgen (Don Rowing Club) and Aubrey Oldham (Leander Boat Club).
Pidgen was the highest placing Canadian boat at the event finishing in tenth place in the women’s solo (4km). She qualified for the A Final with a fourth-place finish in her opening round heat in a time of 23:03.84. All competitors who qualified for an A Final were forced to adapt to a scheduling change, as forecasted adverse weather meant the A Finals were run a day earlier than expected. Pidgen bettered her time in the final by over a minute (22:00.46), which was won by Ireland’s Monica Dukarska (20:39.51). Pidgen and Oldham teamed up for the mixed double, which was also contested over 4km. The duo narrowly missed qualifying for the A Final with a seventh-place finish in their opening heat but bounced back to earn a second-place finish in the B Final in a time of 18:41.58, good for 20th overall.
A total of six Canadian boats competed at the event including other Ontario athletes Autumn Prior (Orillia Rowing Club) and Oliver Brennan (Kingston Rowing Club). Both junior-aged athletes competing against older and more experienced rowers, Prior and Brennan got their first taste of coastal action at the international level. Brennan finished in 11th place in the B Final (29th overall) in a time of 22:06.00, while Prior came in 15th in the B Final (25:41.81), good for 33rd overall.
Pidgen, Oldham, Prior and Brennan will have a few days to rest and re-focus prior to changing gears for the start of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, which will also take place from Genoa at San Nazaro Beach. They’ll be joined by several other Canadian athletes to compete in rowing’s newest Olympic discipline from Sept. 13-15.
On the domestic front, the fall rowing season kicked off with two head races as the Muskoka Fall Classic and Head of the Madawaska were hosted.
Organized by the Georgian Bay Rowing Club, the popular Muskoka Fall Classic attracted 240 entries from 22 clubs from across Ontario and US. Unfortunately, weather played a significant factor in the running of the event, as scheduled races in the afternoon had to be cancelled because of the windy conditions on Gull Lake.
The Head of the Madawaska took place as scheduled as the competitors raced in 3km or 4.5km head races. Organized by the Burnstown Rowing Club, the invitational regatta was comprised of rowers from the Burnstown Rowing Club, Ottawa Rowing Club, Quinte Rowing Club, Ottawa New Edinburgh Club and St. Lawrence Rowing Club.
For full results from the World Rowing Coastal Championships, visit World Rowing.
For full results from the Muskoka Fall Classic, visit RegattaCentral.
For full results from the Head of the Madawaska, visit RegattaCentral.
For the full regatta schedule in Ontario, visit the Row Ontario website.
Photo is property of World Rowing.
