South Africa National Rowing Squad Departs For 2026 World Rowing Championships In Amsterdam

SOUTH AFRICA — The RMB National Rowing Squad has departed for Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to compete at the 2026 World Rowing Championships, the event that brings the international classic rowing season to a close. Taking place at the Bosbaan from 24 to 30 August, the Championships will see more than 850 athletes from 64 nations chase medals across 23 boat classes, in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest editions in the event's history.

South Africa travels to Amsterdam full of confidence after a season that has already shown the squad is capable of racing with the best in the world.

Building Momentum: Lucerne and Henley

At the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne in June, Courtney Westley and Katherine Williams finished 8th overall in the women's pair, Paige Badenhorst finished 9th overall in the women's single sculls, and Chris Baxter finished 15th overall in the men's single sculls — results that put the squad firmly in touch with the world's leading nations heading into the northern hemisphere summer.

That form carried through to the Henley Royal Regatta, widely regarded as the world's most prestigious regatta. Both South African scullers reached the semi-finals. Badenhorst produced what many called the race of the regatta, going stroke for stroke with Austria's Magdalena Lobnig — an Olympic bronze medallist and two-time world champion in coastal and beach sprint rowing — before losing by just half a length. Baxter pushed eventual finalist Diogo Gonçalves of Portugal all the way in his semi-final, while Westley and Williams fell in the quarter-finals to Italy's Laura Meriano and Alice Codato, who went on to win the event outright.

Coming so close to the sharp end of the world's most competitive regatta has given the squad every reason to believe a big performance is coming in Amsterdam.

Three Weeks of Final Preparation in Tzaneen

In the final push before departure, the squad has spent the past three weeks together on a training camp in Tzaneen, Limpopo — a regular preparation base for South African rowing. The three uninterrupted weeks have given the crews real time on the water to sharpen race fitness, fine-tune their rhythm and race plans, and build crew cohesion ahead of the biggest regatta of the year.

Watching the group in Lucerne and at Henley, the improvement was already clear, as they pushed some of the best crews and athletes in the world all the way.

"This preparation has given the team even more confidence heading into the World Championships," said national coach Andrew Grant.

Age-Group Depth Signals a Bright Future

South Africa's strong 2026 season has not been limited to the senior squad. At the World Rowing Under-23 Championships in Duisburg, Germany, both the South African men's four and women's four reached the A-Final — the country's best-ever result in the men's four, and, by all available records, the first time South Africa has ever entered a women's four at U23 World Championships.

The results are the product of a new programme designed to give South African rowers based overseas, many of them competing on university scholarships in the United States and Europe, the opportunity to represent their country. With crews now able to draw on talent from both home and abroad, the pathway has already delivered encouraging results — and points to a bright future, as this generation looks to carry forward South Africa's proud Olympic rowing history, which includes medals in Athens, London and Rio.

RMB's Continued Support

"RMB is incredibly proud to once again be supporting the National Rowing Squad as they head to the World Championships," said Michael Edwards, RMB Sponsorship Marketing Lead. "This has been a season of real progress — from Lucerne to Henley to the outstanding age-group results in Duisburg — and it is clear this programme is building something special. We wish the team every success in Amsterdam, and we will be cheering them on every stroke of the way."

Looking Ahead

With the season's toughest test now on the horizon, the RMB National Rowing Squad heads to Amsterdam to bring the curtain down on a solid international season — and with genuine momentum behind them, all eyes will be on the Bosbaan from 24 to 30 August.

Fans can follow the team's progress throughout the Championships on World Rowing's website and the RowingRSA Instagram page.