Weekend Wrap: World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals Visit Turkey

The World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals took centre stage this weekend in the rowing world as beach sprint competitors from across the globe flocked to Antalya, Turkey.

Contested over four days (Nov. 6-9), the Beach Sprint Finals took place at Sorgun Çamiçi Public Beach in Antalya and featured ten medal events in the junior, open and inclusion categories. Team Canada’s entry in the event consisted of six athletes, five of which came from Ontario, competing in six boat entries. Autumn Prior (Orillia Rowing Club) and Oliver Brennan (Kingston Rowing Club) each competed in the junior solo and teamed for the junior mixed double, Sarah Pidgen (Don Rowing Club) raced in the open women’s single, Aubrey Oldham (Leander Boat Club) and Carling Zeeman (Sudbury Rowing Club) teamed up for the open mixed double, and Raphael Kaiser (Aviron Knowlton) competed in the open men’s solo.

The always exciting beach sprints format featured either one or two time trial rounds depending on the event, with up to 16 competitors per event advancing to the knockout stage, where competitors face-off head-to-head in a tournament bracket format to determine the winner. Three Canadian boats advanced to the knockout round, with Prior (JW1x), Pidgen (W1x), and Oldham & Zeeman (Mix2x) all bowing out in their first-round matchup. Oldham & Zeeman came up just short of advancing, finishing just .61 seconds behind Tunisia in one of the closest finishes of the regatta.

Germany finished tops on the medal tally with five medals (2 gold, 3 silver), followed by Spain (1 gold, 3 silver), and France (1 gold, 3 bronze) with four apiece.

For full results from the World Rowing Beach Sprints visit World Rowing.