Under 19 events wrap up under the Antalya sun

Day 3 of the 2025 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals saw repechages and knockout rounds for the senior events, followed by the last three under 19 medal events. Germany continued a strong showing with three more medals – all silver. Spain made sure they would continue their streak of winning at least one gold medal at every edition of the World Beach Sprint Finals, and France opened their account with the under 19 women’s solo gold and mixed doubles bronze.

Spain keep golden streak alive

The coastal under 19 men’s solo provided drama from the start. Ignacio Ramon-Borja of Spain had the easiest route to the semifinals, but the third and fourth quarterfinals came down to the wire and saw European champion Sol Chamberlain-Hyde (Great Britain) fall to Lukas Krizek (Czechia), in a repeat of the European semifinal with a reversed result. Meanwhile Germany’s Felix Krones won the third quarterfinal by just 0.1 seconds, diving for the buzzer to push Iason Mouselimis (Greece) out of medal contention. Ramon-Borja easily defeated 2023 champion Lucio Fugazzotto (Italy) in semifinal 1, while Krones’s turn and second leg gave him victory over Krizek.

A cleaner start gave Ramon-Borja the early lead in the final, and his well-executed turn helped extend that lead and ensure Spain would keep their record of at least one gold medal in every edition of the World Rowing Beach Sprints Finals going. Krones was unable to close the gap, but picked up Germany’s third medal in three events in Antalya. Fugazzotto beat Krizek for bronze, winning his third medal – and second bronze – in three editions of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals.

Result: ESP, GER, ITA, CZE

Ramon-Borja said: “I’ve worked a lot, a lot this last year. The race was incredible, on the second leg to come to the beach I took a lot of waves and it helped me to win the competition.”

Phillipe claims France’s first medal

After winning the timetrial, Lou Phillipe of France almost lost the quarterfinal against Alejandra Garcia (Spain). It was only a strong return leg and a better sprint that gave Phillipe a place in the semifinals by 0.14 seconds. That sprint also proved decisive in the semifinal against Magdalena Vlastnikova of Czechia. Mia Tetiwa won the under 19 women’s double sculls on Friday for Germany and needed all her experience to get through the quarterfinal; the wide course taken by Li Lele (China) on the return leg proved decisive. A better return leg was also key for Tetiwa in the semifinal, as she beat European champion Maria Lanciano (Italy).

However, Phillipe had the better legs when it came down to the sprint in the final, and after a very even row, took the win over Tetiwa on the run. This is France’s first gold medal in this event. Vlastnikova grabbed Czechia’s first-ever under 19 beach sprints medal when she beat Lanciano by 0.06 seconds, throwing herself on the buzzer a fraction ahead of Lanciano after a very close race.

Result: FRA, GER, CZE, ITA

Phillipe said: “I would never have expected to be world champion one day, especially in beach sprints, because I do river rowing. But they contacted me to do beach, and I said ‘why not?’ I picked up a lot of speed compared to Europeans, because I hadn’t done enough training then – it was my first time – and I tried to stay cool for the races and it worked out. ”

Austria win first under 19 beach sprints gold

Türkiye came into the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals as European champions in the coastal under 19 mixed double sculls, but their solid run to the quarterfinals ended as France beat them in a tight quarterfinal. However, Germany were too strong for both Switzerland and France in their races, taking them through to their fifth under 19 medal race of the regatta. Austria joined them, after fairly straightforward wins over Spain and Ukraine.

In the final Austria’s momentum continued and they claimed gold with a perfect row – getting off to a quick start ahead of Germany, holding that to the turn, and extending it on the return leg. Germany won their fifth medal of the competition, silver. France took bronze after another good performance, completing a good day for their nation following Phillipe’s gold.

Result: AUT, GER, FRA, UKR

Austria’s Nikolas Roidmayer said: “It’s unbelievable. Coming here and getting seventh place in the first timetrial, I lost quite a bit of hope to even be just one of the top three, but now standing here, it’s great. ”

Last chances for the quarterfinals in senior events

The morning session was packed with repechages and knockout races. Austria and Türkiye were the comfortable winners of the inclusion mixed double sculls repechages, taking them through to the semifinals to join Great Britain and Egypt. In the coastal mixed quadruple sculls, each of the six repechages was won by the faster crew from the timetrial.

The coastal men’s solo knockouts delivered several surprises. Finlay Hamill of New Zealand missed a slalom buoy and fell to Mathis Nottelet (France); 2021 World Rowing Beach Sprints champion Giovanni Ficarra (Italy) is knocked out of the running by Türkiye’s Kaan Aydin; and African champion Omar Elkomaty (Egypt) lost in a narrow battle to African bronze medallist Murray Bales-Smith (South Africa).

In the coastal women’s solos, the key players all advanced. Defending champion Magdalena Lobnig (Austria) looked good beating 2023 champion Janneke van der Meulen. Timetrial winner and 2022 champion Emma Twigg (New Zealand) also controlled her race to progress.

Both the reigning world and European champions, Lithuania and Portugal, made it safely through to the coastal mixed double sculls quarterfinals. Spain and France won close races against Peru and Germany, and Tunisia grabbed the victory over Canada.