"VAN" (Sports Desk - 06.09.2026) :: Nail-biting A-Final finishes have headlined a captivating final day at the Australian & Oceania Beach Sprints Championships (AOBSC). After four days of competition which has witnessed over 190 entries across 24 event categories, spanning underage, open and masters categories, this year's Championships concluded with the Beach Sprints Double Sculls.
Featured throughout Sunday races are current and future Rowsellas, including athletes in Rowing Australia’s High Performance program that directly benefits from the continued support of Principal Partner Hancock Prospecting and RA Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO.
Rowing Australia also acknowledges and is grateful for the vital support provided by the Australian Institute of Sport, the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Government and Commonwealth Games Australia.
The final day of the AOBSC, sponsored by Experience Gold Coast, saw seven Beach Sprints Double Sculls categories completed at Currumbin Creek. In the Under 19 Mixed Double Scull, Charlotte Bowen and Harrison Braithwaite claimed a thrilling win over the University of Queensland pairing of Oliver Kent and Isabel Pattison.
Kent and Pattison were fastest in the time trials registering a time of 2:39.93, 3.15 seconds faster than Bowen and Braithwaite who were second-fastest in qualifying. Both crews were dominant in their quarter-final and semi-final clashes, setting up a titanic A-Final. The race didn’t disappoint, with Bowen and Braithwaite edging ahead at the final stages to beat their opponents to the buzzer by just 0.92 seconds.
In the Open Men’s Beach Sprint Double Scull, Samuel Forbes (University of Queensland, QLD) and Oscar Scheel-Gamborg (Mosman, NSW), who had won the Open Mixed Coxed Quad Scull together a day prior, showed a continued run of form finishing fastest in their time trial.
After a strong-semi final performance, they faced off against Daniel Johnston (Mosman, NSW) and Jesse Rosin (Canberra, ACT) in the A-Final. The two crews pushed each other to their limits, and it was Forbes and Scheel-Gamborg who secured the win by the barest of margins - 0.36 seconds - recording a time of 2:15.31.
Catherine Khan and Elizabeth Newell won gold in the Open Women’s Double Scull, beating Sophia Wightman and Wallis Russell with a time of 2:35.15 after qualifying fastest in their time trials earlier in the day.
In the Under 19 Women’s Double Scull, Camilla Griffin and Charlotte Bowen combined brilliantly to set the fastest time in the time trials before winning their semi-final and securing their A-Final victory over Olivia Kelly and Briar Froud. It’s been a successful AOBSC for Griffin who also won the Under 17 Women’s Solo and Under 19 Mixed Coxed Quad Scull categories earlier in the week.
Harrison Braithwaite claimed his second gold medal of the day in the Under 19 Men’s Double Scull, teaming up with Oliver Kent to take out the title.
The Under 17 Mixed Double Scull was won by Kaelin Marshall and Alexander Watt, with Samuel Forbes and Wallis Russell claiming gold in the PR3 Mixed Double Scull.
As the 2026 AOBSC draws to a close, it has been thrilling to see athletes from across the Pacific competing in the Championships alongside rowers from across Australia, boosting the level of competition and providing an invaluable experience to all athletes. The Coastal Rowing camp held prior to the AOBSC provided further benefits for athletes, testing their skills as they work towards their Olympic dreams.
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