GB Beach Sprint Team announced for 2024 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals

22 athletes and eight coaches and support staff have been selected to race at the 2024 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Genoa, Italy from 13-15 September

GB will contest all 10 events in the programme. Six of the boats have already raced this year at the European Beach Sprint Championships in June. They will be joined by four new further crews – the senior Mixed Quadruple Sculls and PR3 Mixed Double Sculls, and Under 19 Women’s and Men’s Double Sculls.

The lineups include the tried and tested combination of Laura McKenzie (Glasgow University BC) and Sam Scrimgeour (Glasgow RC) will be back in the mixed double (CMix2x) hoping to build on the silver medals they won at the 2023 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals and the 2024 European Beach Sprint Championships. Reading RC’s Ben Snoxall, who took bronze at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in the Under 19 Men’s Double Sculls will be racing the same event this year, but now in a crew with his brother, Oli. The twins won classic-format Open Championship Double Sculls at the National Schools Regatta in May. The remaining medallist from the 2023 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in this year’s team too is Leah Saunders (Evesham RC). After winning silver then in Under 19 Women’s Double Sculls, she is now in the Under 19 Mixed event.

Meanwhile, Tom Walker, European bronze medallist in the Under 19 Men’s Solos, will be racing at his first World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals

Lead Coach Tom Pattichis, British Rowing’s Olympic Pathway Manager, said: “This is a strong team and we’re excited to see how they will perform. These are the first World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals to take place since it was announced last October that the beach sprint rowing would be included in the programme for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, so we expect that the standard will have stepped up from last year.”

A number of these competitors are also racing at the World Rowing Coastal Championships for clubs the weekend before the Beach Sprint Finals.  Charles Cousins has been selected to represent GB; the others will be representing their clubs.

Senior Team

Coastal Women’s Solos (CW1x)

Clare Jamison (Christchurch RC)

Coastal Men’s Solos (CM1x)

Jerry Owen (Nottingham RC/Fishguard and Goodwick Jemima RC)

Coastal Mixed Double Sculls (CMix2x)

Laura McKenzie (Glasgow University BC)
Sam Scrimgeour (Glasgow RC)

Coastal Mixed Quadruple Sculls (CMix4x+)

Cameron Buchan (Edinburgh University BC)
Charles Cousins (Mumbles RC)
Heather Gordon (Inverness RC)
Rosa Thomson (Leander Club)
Ryan Glymond (cox) (Tyne ARC/University of St Andrews BC)

Para Coastal Mixed Double Sculls (PR3 CMix2x)

Colin Wallace (Deeside Scullers)
Natacha Searson (Jersey RC/Tynemouth RC)

Reserves/Boat Handlers

Hal Flowerdew (Tynemouth RC)
Natacha Searson (Jersey RC/Tynemouth RC)

Under 19 Team

Coastal Under 19 Women’s Solos (CJW1x)

Olivia Hodgson (RGS Worcester BC)

Coastal Under 19 Men’s Solos (CJM1x)

Tom Walker (Christchurch RC)

Coastal Under 19 Mixed Double Sculls (CJMix2x)

Leah Saunders (Evesham RC)
Sol Chamberlain-Hyde (Lymington ARC)

Coastal Under 19 Women’s Double Sculls (CJW2x)

Lucy Whiteley (Fishguard and Goodwick Jemima RC / RGS Worcester BC)
Caitlin Lockey (Christchurch RC)

Coastal Under 19 Men’s Double Sculls (CJM2x)

Ben Snoxall (Reading RC)
Oli Snoxall (Reading RC)

Under 19 Reserves/Boat Handlers

Xavier Jebb (Christchurch RC)
Marie Girardet (Lea RC)

Team Support

Mark Dunstan: Team Manager
Tom Pattichis: Lead Coach
Lucy Hart: Coach
James Walker: Coach
Iain Docwra: Coach
Martha Owen: Coach
Natasha Thorne: Physio
Ailsa Martin: Assistant Team Manager