Palestine’s lone Indoor Rowing representative

Competing in the open men’s 2000m at the 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept 2, is Amel Younis. He will be racing for more than a fast time, Younis will be racing for his nation. The only elite rower for Palestine, Younis has been able to make the sport a part of his life from his home in the United States.

Younis grew up on the East Coast of the United States. Planning to follow his older brother into American football, his brother advised against it saying; “Don’t do it, save your head.” Born with a learning disability, Younis realised having his head “slammed” wasn’t a good idea. “My cousin rowed and he said, ‘you just have to work really hard, rowing rewards hard work’.”

Younis loved rowing from the start. “There was something serene about the first time I sat in the boat. It didn’t matter what was happening in my personal life, at home, or in the world. And I loved the nature part of it, the water, the birds.”

A win in his sophomore year at high school changed Younis’s outlook. “It was the first time I’d ever won anything. I started to gain confidence.” With his learning disability, Younis never thought he’d be heading to college. Rowing motivated him to go. He rowed at Mercyhurst under Adrian Spracklen, the son of Olympic medal winning coach Mike Spracklen. After graduating, Younis joined the high performance team at Boston’s Riverside Boat Club.

American born, Younis’s father is a Palestinian refugee from Safsaf who made it to the United States in 1948. Younis had always dreamed of rowing for Palestine and four years ago he reached out to World Rowing who put him in contact with the Palestine Sailing and Rowing Federation. Younis has now competed for Palestine at the last three World Rowing Championships in the lightweight men’s single sculls.

His standout memory, “I’ll never forget for the rest of my life” was racing in the heats of the lightweight single at St Catharines against Paul O’Donovan. The Irish World and Olympic Champion, O’Donovan crossed the line easily ahead in first place and received a huge cheer from the crowd. Younis came in last and received a standing ovation.

“After the race Paul came over and was like, ‘who are you?’ We got talking and he was interested and respectful. He told me that I was a fighter. Hearing that was like I had just won. The greatest rower in the world just told me I was a fighter! I was so happy that I felt seen and heard.”

Younis says he thinks about Palestine every day and has heard the federation in Gaza has been completely destroyed. “There’s nothing there, but I do have hope that it will be rebuilt one day. The rowers had been rowing on a strip of the Mediterranean Sea and have started to get into coastal rowing.”

For Younis competing in the World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept2 fits in well with his on-water training as he heads towards this year’s World Rowing Championships.

“I do have a love for the erg and I love representing Palestine, so I want to take advantage of any chance to represent my country. Indoor rowing is exciting. You get to watch every stroke and there’s something so intriguing about watching a 2k. I love watching and I love competing.”

For this virtual championship, Younis will be at his Riverside club. “It’ll just be me as I have to compete at the Asian time for Palestine. There are others at the club competing, but they will be on American time.”

Next up for Younis is to try and get to the World Cups and then focus on the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai. He’ll be racing in a single but with the dream of someday racing for Palestine in an eight.