~ Su Juntao and Liu Lili claim the first Youth Olympic gold medal in Rowing Coastal Beach Sprints events as a new chapter in rowing history begins on the shores of Senegal.
"VAN" (Sports Desk - 11.03.2026) :: If flatwater rowing is a study in rhythm, precision, and controlled power, then Beach Sprints are its much louder, wilder counterpart. One is the quiet sound of oarlocks and the sight of a boat slicing through the water. The other has the 'Bring da Ruckus' energy of a Wu-Tang Clan track.
And on Saly Beach West, with the Atlantic rolling in and the drums of Senegal providing the soundtrack, the crowd noise ringing the sandy competition arena was real.
Su Juntao and Liu Lili of China made history on Monday, winning the Mixed Coastal Gold Medal Race in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games and becoming the first Olympic champions in the Rowing Coastal Beach Sprints.
In a sport where explosive running, technical boat handling, tactical nous and sheer rowing power all come together, the Chinese pair were simply superb. They were home in 2:22.37 to win by 6.58secs from Austria's Schoenhuber and Lux and go down in Olympic history.
It completed an undefeated campaign. Having qualified 2nd in the Time Trial (1.71secs behind Germany), Su and Liu won every knockout race that followed. Their win in the quarter final against the USA (2:12.44) was the fastest time of any of the races in the competition.
"Both of us are very strong and that gives us an advantage," said Su. "I had the responsibility and our coach did a great job with our movement. We knew they were behind us."
For Liu the achievement tasted even sweeter after a demanding stretch of competition.
We're tired as we've just come back from the world championship and haven't had any rest at all. I was actually quite nervous before it even started.
Those nerves did little to slow them down. When the biggest race of their careers arrived, Su and Liu delivered.
Austria Turn Eighth into Silver
If China's route to gold was one of consistency, then Austria's route to silver was a tale of sheer determination and perfectly timed surges.
Schoenhuber and Lux reached the knockout stages by qualifying eighth, the last team to make it from Sunday’s Time Trial 1. From then on, they went on an absolutely stunning run.
They knocked out Egypt (the second Time Trial winner) in the Last 16 and then went on to produce two massive upsets. Germany, who had won Time Trial 1 and posted the fastest time in the Last 16, were knocked out in the quarter-finals. Austria then knocked Ukraine in the semi-finals.
Suddenly, the lowest-ranked crew to advance from the time trials was racing for Olympic gold.
China were one too many, but the Austrians had certainly written their own story. Their silver medallists celebrated as if it were gold.
France Win in Bronze-Medal Thriller
France's Raphaël de Boussac and his partner in the Mixed Coastal event took home the bronze in a finish that added another bit of drama to Saly Beach West.
After falling to China in the semifinals, the French crew regrouped for the Bronze Medal Race, edging Ukraine 2:20.20 to 2:20.85 – a margin of just 0.65 seconds.
Ukraine had survived a tough knockout draw (including a win over the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals), but France made one final push — on the final run up to the buzzer — when it counted.
"We're very happy, so excited. It's huge," said de Boussac. "We weren't the favourites, so to medal is really something.
"It's a historic first, and it's an honour that it's us."
The first Olympic podium in Rowing Coastal Beach Sprints was complete: China with gold, Austria with silver and France with bronze.
Waves Have Their Say
The racing of the afternoon served as a constant reminder that Beach Sprints are never just a race to see who can row the fastest.
Conditions changed all day with the wind and waves building as the day went on. Times slowed right up after the quarterfinals as the athletes were having to rework their lines, deal with the conditions and make decisions on the water second by second.
The weather provided a very dramatic background to the medal ceremony with a proper downpour of rain coming through the venue just minutes after the first Olympic medals had been awarded.
Solo Fields Cut to Eight as the Waves Build in Saly
The Men's and Women's Solo's had also moved into the knockout stages earlier on, the Last 16 seeing both fields reduced from 16 to 8.
Callum Dreyer from South Africa was one of the standouts in the men's race, beating Justas Domarkas of Lithuania in a very close race. The lead changed quite a few times before Dreyer got his chance on the return to shore.
"Every time I looked over my shoulder, he was right on my tail the whole time," Dreyer said. "When I came in I thought my only chance was to try and catch a wave. I was able to catch that wave and that gave me the advantage."
De Boussac, the French flagbearer at the opening ceremonies, also made the news in the Men's Solo, knocking out Greece's Iason Mouselimis (European U19 champion and fastest qualifier from TT1).
In the Women's Solo, Switzerland's Tanya Brendle, the fastest Time Trial 1 qualifier, progressed with a convincing win over Ireland's Kate Dunne.
"Some very big waves, it was quite a job to manage," Brendle said. "You absolutely have to know how to play with the waves rather than be against them, but you also have to know how to keep on course."
Camilla Griffin from Australia also made it through, obviously the highlight of the day for a very large and very vocal contingent of Aussies along the beach.
Both Solo competitions now move into their Last 8 stages, with the first-ever Olympic men's and women's Solo Beach Sprint medallists to be crowned on Tuesday.
A new Olympic Chapter
For rowing, Dakar 2026 is a landmark. Beach Sprints have added a whole new dimension to the Olympic programme and the discipline is set to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
The format is a notable departure from the conventional rowing course. You sprint down the beach, jump into the boat, go through a 250m slalom course, do a 180 around a buoy and race back to the start before sprinting across the sand to the finish.
It's rowing at full volume and in Dakar it's found a platform which is absolutely right for it.
China's Su Juntao and Liu Lili are the first Youth Olympic gold medallists in the new Rowing Coastal Beach Sprints event.
On a beach in Senegal, with the Atlantic as the backdrop, they didn't just win a race. They made history.
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