"VAN" (Sports Desk - 14.10.2026) :: The 2026 World Rowing Coastal Championships in Qingdao, China, came to a thrilling end on Tuesday after three days of exciting racing.
Challenging conditions, with swell and wind, caused some problems for crews around the turning buoys, but also provided thrills for spectators.
The USA took the team trophy and topped the medal table after USA crews won three gold medals and two silvers, ahead of hosts China. China, France, Italy and Finland each won one gold. A total of nine nations featured on the medal table.
Several athletes are going home with two medals. Kory Rogers and Christopher Bak (USA) both picked up a gold and silver, winning the coastal men’s double sculls plus silver in the mixed double sculls and men’s solo respectively. Alexis Fortier (FRA) beat Bak to gold in the men’s solo, after taking bronze with his brother Aymeric in the men’s double sculls.
The finish in the men’s solo was extraordinary. Fortier took the lead over Bak in the latter stages of the race, but Bak clung on and never let the Frenchman’s advantage stretch to more than half a length of clear water. In the closing straight, Bak sprinted hard, closing up to just 0.79 seconds after almost 31 minutes of racing.
Joel Naukkarinen and Eeva Karppinen (FIN) won the mixed double sculls, after both took bronze in the solo events, and Bass Andre won silver in the women’s solo and women’s coxed quadruple sculls.
China’s win came in the women’s double sculls, as Zhang Yuanyuan and Sun Luping beat Peru and France to top spot. Silver for the experienced Palacios twins, Alessia and Valeria, came on top of their earlier bronze in the women’s quadruple sculls.
A number of athletes are staying in Qingdao for the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, which take place between 18-21 October, and could add to their medal hauls in the shorter event.
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