Rowing Queensland

Queensland Shines on the World Stage: 2026 World Rowing Championships Wrap-Up

What a Championships it's been. Our Queensland athletes pulled on the green and gold and took to the water against the best in the world — and they gave us plenty to cheer about. Here's how our crew got on.

🥉 Men's Eight — BRONZE

Pat Long & Mitch Salisbury

Save the best for last, because this one had everyone on the edge of their seat. The Men's Eight delivered an absolute thriller of a final, going stroke for stroke with the field right to the line before crossing in third to secure the bronze medal. Races like this are exactly why we love this sport — congratulations to Pat and Mitch and the rest of the crew on a medal-winning performance under serious pressure.

5th Place — PR3 Mixed Coxed Four

Wallis Russell, Toby Goffsassen

A strong showing in the para-rowing ranks, with Wallis and Toby in a top-five finish in a tightly contested field.

B Finals — Battling with the World's Best

Three more Queenslanders backed up their qualification with solid efforts in their respective B Finals:

Paddy Holt — Men's Four
Jackson Free — Men's Quad
Lily Alton — Women's Eight

Proud of Every Stroke

From a nail-biting bronze medal in the Eight to strong showings across the board, our Queensland athletes did our state proud on the world stage. Congratulations to Wallis, Toby, Paddy, Jackson, Lily, Pat and Mitch, and of course to our coach, Chris Holliday supporting Erik Horrie and all the coaches and support staff behind the Aussies.

Here's to backing them all the way to next season!

Rowing Queensland Independent Students: a new pathway trial

Not every rower has a school program behind them. Some train just as hard through a club, without a school crew to line up alongside at regatta day.

Rowing Queensland is trialling a new affiliation to close that gap: Rowing Queensland Independent Students (RQIS). It gives eligible school-aged athletes competing through club programs a way to race at school championship events, including the Queensland Schools' Championships.

Eligibility criteria and the full operating protocol are available now.

Know an athlete this could apply to? Get in touch.

📩 Interested athletes: [email protected]
📩 Questions or feedback: [email protected]

Get the coffee ready and set those alarm clocks. The 2026 World Rowing Championships are heading to Amsterdam, which means some late nights for Queensland rowing fans!

What a year it has been for our Queenslanders on the world stage, and now it's time for the biggest campaign of the season.

Three cheers for our Queenslanders representing Australia:

Toby Goffsassen
Wallis Russell
Paddy Holt
Jacko Free
Lily Alton
Pat Long
Mitch Salisbury

And our reserves, ready to jump into action:

Mac Russell
Darcy Watter

We wish all of our Queensland athletes, coaches and the entire Australian Rowing Team the very best in Amsterdam.

Head to World Rowing for the racing schedule, work out the time difference and set your alarm clock.

QUEENSLANDERRRRR!

Congratulations to everyone that participated in this year's Bridge to Bridge in Marlborough, hosted by the incredible team at Wide Bay Rowing Club.

For those that have not participated in this event before, add it to your calendar for next year. Row the Sunshine State: because there is always somewhere to row in Queensland!