Wales win Rowing Beach Sprint Championships

Wales have won the Home International Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in Ireland.

It is the second time in three years that Welsh rowers have won the trophy.

The scores in the fourth running of the event at Narin beach, Donegal were Wales 24, England 18, Scotland 15 and hosts Ireland 13.

"It was a great day for Wales in wild, wet and very windy conditions," said Welsh Rowing senior coach James Walker.

The sport requires rowers to take a short sprint along the beach to then jump into their boat which is being held in the surf by two team boat handlers.

After launching from the beach to race 250m around slalom buoys, crews then do a 180 degree turn before surfing the boat back to the beach with a final running sprint to hit a buzzer at the finish line.

Rowing beach sprints will be included in the Olympic Games for the first time at Los Angeles in 2028.

The Wales team was made up of rowers from Fishguard and Goodwick Jemima RC, Mumbles RC, Warrington RC, Sunderland RC, Hexham RC and Hartpury College.

There were seven categories in all - three senior, three junior and one under-23 - with three of the categories involving mixed-sex crews.

Wales' three gold medals came in the senior men's single, the junior women's single and the under-23 mixed double.

"There were some great races in challenging conditions at times but that's what beach sprints is all about," said Walker.

"We managed to get to every final, winning three of them with four second places."

Wales will next be competing in the Commonwealth Beach Sprint Championships in Barbados in November.

"This will be a great opportunity for them to row against top international opposition from across the world," added Walker.

"It will also hopefully be a stepping stone for future potential Olympians with the sport showcasing for the first time at the Los Angeles Games in 2028."