Beach Sprint Rowing preparations in full swing for LA28 debut

With Coastal Rowing, Beach Sprints set to make its Olympic debut at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, World Rowing has introduced key refinements to its competition rules to ensure the discipline’s seamless integration onto the world’s biggest sporting stage. These updates, ratified at the World Rowing Quadrennial Congress on 15 March, reinforce the sport’s readiness for the global spotlight.

With the Olympic Games on the horizon, World Rowing is committed to developing Beach Sprint Rowing into a world-class, high-performance sport while preserving its unique appeal. The latest rule refinements focus on race formats, safety regulations, and fair play measures to enhance the clarity and consistency of competitions. These adjustments not only improve the experience for athletes but also contribute to the discipline’s growing attractiveness for broadcasters and spectators alike.

Beyond LA28 preparations, World Rowing is advancing a global strategy to further expand Beach Sprint Rowing. A key aspect of this strategy involves increasing event opportunities and strengthening the sport’s presence in new regions. To support this vision, discussions are underway to launch a new series of high-profile Beach Sprint Rowing events, designed to elevate the sport’s visibility and engagement worldwide.

As a reminder, World Rowing attributed, at the conclusion of an extensive consultation process involving multiple candidate cities, the 2025 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the 2026 World Rowing Coastal Championships & Beach Sprint Finals to Qingdao, China.

“Coastal Rowing, Beach Sprints are set to play a major role in the future of Rowing,” said World Rowing’s president Jean-Christophe Rolland. “With Dakar 2026 and Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon and an exciting new event series in development, we are ensuring that the discipline reaches new heights, both in terms of competition and global reach.”

With these changes in place, Beach Sprint Rowing is poised to captivate a new wave of global audiences, elevating the sport to unprecedented heights on the Olympic stage. World Rowing has embarked on an ambitious, global growth strategy for the discipline, underpinned by increased investments across geographies and participation in high-profile multisport events. That strategy will continue with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

To learn more about Beach Sprint Rowing, click here to watch a presentation of the discipline, here to learn more on “How to Beach Sprint” or click here to download our media booklet.