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GB Rowing Team announced for 2022 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals and European Rowing Beach Sprint Championships

Nine boats will compete for Great Britain at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Saundersfoot, Wales from 14-16 October and a further six will race at the European Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in San Sebastian, Spain from 27-30 October

Double Olympic champion, Helen Glover will be travelling to the picturesque town of Saundersfoot on the Pembrokeshire coast to race the waves in the women’s solos. Commenting on her selection, Helen said: “I’m really enjoying trying something new and to take it to the world championships is very exciting. Rowing has given me so much and trying this new type of rowing feels like a celebration of the sport that I love.”

The event also sees the return of London 2012 Olympian and 2014 World silver medalist Charles Cousins. Charles stepped away from the GB Rowing Team in 2015 but is coming out of retirement to race in the mixed double with Clare Jamison.

Clare got the coastal rowing ‘bug’ living by the sea in Dorset, having rowed at Oxford University. She said: “I only discovered sculling and coastal rowing last summer and it’s been a fantastic experience. I love thinking about the wind and the waves and you just can’t stop smiling – and there will certainly be wind and waves in Wales in October! I’m excited to see what Charles and I can do on the world stage.”

Charles added: “When I found out the World Championships were in Wales I was desperate to get involved. I love being by the ocean, coastal rowing fits nicely within that and I’ve moved to South Wales to be closer to the sea. I’m looking forward to racing with Clare as she’s really strong in the sprint format. We’re going to prepare by doing a few races together and get out to train on the course. Putting on the GB kit after all this time is a really cool feeling. It’s going to be great fun and I’m happy that I’ve still got it!”

Hotly tipped to become a future Olympic discipline, Beach Sprint is a relatively new rowing event, with head-to-head racing taking place in solos, mixed doubles and mixed coxed quadruple sculls. Raced in coastal boats, it begins with a run from the beach to the boat, athletes then sprint row to a buoy and back. The race ends with one rower from each team sprinting to a finish line on the beach.

Jerry Owen, 21, of Fishguard and Goodwick Jemima Rowing Club in Pembrokeshire, raced in the quad for GB’s Beach Sprint team in China 2019, winning bronze. This year he returns to the mixed coxed quad with Cardiff’s Bo Hughes, Twickenham’s Jade Lindo, Glasgow’s Laura McKenzie and cox Ryan Glymond. He said: “I’ve raced at Saundersfoot since I was 14 and now am so excited to be representing Great Britain again in this new combination quad – I think we’ll be pretty speedy! I’ve had so much support from my club and local people so it’s great to see it’s all been worth it! I’m also hoping that the profile of the event will draw up some new members for our local clubs and encourage more people to get involved in rowing.”

Louise Kingsley, Director of Performance at British Rowing said: “The 19 selected rowers merge athletes from our Olympic pathway and the coastal rowing community. They are making history as Great Britain’s first home Beach Sprint team and will have the opportunity to race at this new, fast and furious event in Wales which also shows a totally different side to rowing!

“The eyes of the world will be on Saundersfoot Harbour in October, with the IOC and Commonwealth Games tipping Beach Sprint for inclusion in Los Angeles 2028 and Victoria 2026 respectively. We hope that the racing will inspire a new generation of elite athletes who could also make history by being our first Olympic and Commonwealth Games Beach Sprint medallists.”

The World Rowing Beach Sprint finals take place in the heart of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Spectator tickets are available to purchase for the ‘Harbour Lounge’ and include access to local concessions, some shelter, comfortable loos, and sustainably sourced event blankets as well as lunchtime entertainment and much more.

Tickets are only £10 for adults and £7 for children and competing athletes. For more information or to purchase tickets visit  .

Eight athletes across six boats have also been selected for the European Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in San Sebastian, Spain from 27-30 October.

The GB team for the World Beach Sprint Finals (14-16 October) are:

Coastal Women’s Solo (CW1x)

Helen Glover (Marlow RC)

Coastal Men’s Solo (CM1x)

Gregor Hall (Stirling RC)

Coastal Mixed Doubles (CMix 2x)

Charles Cousins (Rob Roy BC)
Clare Jamison (Christchurch RC)

Coastal Mixed Coxed Quad Sculls (CMix 4x+)

Jerry Owen (Fishguard and Goodwick Jemima RC)
Bo Hughes (Cardiff University RC)
Jade Lindo (Twickenham RC)
Laura McKenzie (University of Glasgow BC)
Cox: Ryan Glymond (University of St Andrews BC)

Coastal U19 Men’s Solo (CJM1x)

James Cox (Queens Park High School RC)

Coastal U19 Women’s Solo (CJW1x)

Isla MacCallum (Stirling RC)

Coastal U19 Mixed Doubles (CJMix2x)

Oliver Robertson (Newark RC)
Evelyn Pakule (Lea RC)

Coastal U19 Men’s Doubles (CJM2x)

Robert Collen (Queen Elizabeth High School RC/Tyne Amateur RC)
James Purves‐Liddell (Durham School BC)

Coastal U19 Women’s Doubles (CJW2x)

Isabel Lancaster (Bradford Amateur RC)
Elisabeth Sekinger (Wycliffe College BC)

Spares

Kath Coleman‐Jones (BTC Southampton)
Des Nevitt (Jersey RC)

Coaching/Boat Handling Team

Tom Pattichis
Lucy Hart
James Walker
William King
Harry Perry

Team Manager

Mark Dunstan

The GB Team for the European Beach Sprint Championships (27-30 October) are:

Coastal Men’s Solos (CM1x)

Hal Flowerdew (Walton RC)

Coastal Women’s Solos (CW1x)

Rosa Thomson (Leander Club)

Coastal Mixed Doubles (CMix 2x)

Gregor Maxwell (London RC)
Eva Barellon‐Kendall (Agecroft RC)

Coastal U19 Men’s Solos (CJM1x)

William Burrows (Norwich RC)

Coastal U19 Women’s Solos (CJW1x)

Summer Harlow (Exeter RC)

Coastal U19 Mixed Doubles (CJMix2x)

Sam Cuthbertson (Trentham BC)
Isabel Punchard (Trentham BC)

Coaching/Boat Handling Team

David Lister
Sarah Gregory
Yewande Adesida
Ashley Cowley

Team Manager

Mark Dunstan

Live video streaming will be available for the whole competition on .

(Photo: James Lee)