Seven U.S. Boats Advance After Opening Day of World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals

After a stormy weekend that forced the cancellation of training and competition at the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Qingdao, racing got underway on Monday. Conditions proved challenging, with many capsizes across the boat classes as rowers battled irregular breaking waves, but they brought plenty of excitement for beachside spectators.

Despite the challenging conditions, the U.S. finished day 1 with seven out of 10 boats still in medal contention, including reigning world champions Chris Back in the men’s solo, and the mixed coxed quadruple sculls. The U.S. also saw several first-time national team members advance to the knockout rounds in the U19 categories.

Here is a boat-by-boat recap of racing:

Open Women’s Solo (CW1x)

Christine Cavallo (Windermere, Fla.) After placing outside of the top eight in Time Trial 1, Cavallo came first in Time Trial 2. She advances to the last 16 and will race Poland’s Martyna Radosz tonight with the round starting at 9:38 p.m. EDT.

Open Men’s Solo (CM1x)

Chris Bak (Cincinnati, Ohio) had a strong start in the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, as he seeks a third consecutive men’s solo world champion title and his fourth overall. Bak finished second in Time Trial 1 out of a field of 45 athletes, trailing first-place Germany by 3.3 seconds. Bak advances to the knockout round and will defend his back-to-back world championship title this evening against Swiss rower Yannick Raschle. This round of racing starts at 9:05 p.m. EDT.

Open Mixed Double Sculls (CMix2x)

Kory Rogers (The Woodlands, Texas) and Sera Busse (Oakland, Calif.) automatically qualified for the last 16 after finishing fifth in Time Trial 1. They will race later today in the last 16, which begins at 1:29 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.

Open Mixed Coxed Quadruple Sculls (CMix4x)

The defending champion U.S. mixed coxed quadruple sculls, featuring Malachi Anderson (Hamilton, Ohio), Audrey Boersen (West Olive, Mich.), Charlotte Wiley (Guilford, Conn.), Chris Bak, and coxswain Coral Kasden (San Diego, Calif.) missed out on automatic qualification to the quarterfinal rounds by one place after finishing seventh in Time Trial 1. They went on to beat Brazil by over 37 seconds in the repechage round and will race in quarterfinals beginning at 2:35 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.

Inclusion Mixed Double Sculls (INMix2x)

Justin Stevens (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Annabelle Miller (Kansas City, Mo.) missed automatic qualification for the semifinals after finishing fourth in Time Trial 1. They went on to beat Egypt by over 16 seconds in the repechage round and will race in the semifinals against Time Trial 1 winner Spain at 8:36 p.m. EDT this evening.

U19 Men’s Solo (CJM1x)

First-time national team member Will Johns (Tulsa, Okla.) did not advance to the knockout rounds after finishing outside the top 8 in Time Trial 1 and Time Trial 2 in the U19 men’s solo.

U19 Women’s Solo (CJW1x)

First-time national team member Allison Grove (Hamilton, Ohio) came seventh in a field of 24 racing in the U19 Women’s Solo Time Trial 1. This result advanced her to the last 16 knockout round where she faced Spain’s Marina Lopez Sempere. After a hard-fought race, Grove was knocked out of the competition by Sempere, trailing the Spaniard by just under six seconds in their bout.

U19 Men’s Double Sculls (CJM2x)

First-time national team member Tim Mayer (Elizabeth City, N.C.), and Ronan Maher (Sioux Falls, S.D.) teamed up, with Mayer in bow and Maher at stroke. The U.S. boat finished seventh in Time Trial 1, forcing a race in Time Trial 2 to qualify for the next stage. Mayer and Maher finished sixth, missing qualification by 0.71 seconds.

U19 Women’s Double Sculls (CJW2x)

First-time national team members Ella McFadden (Camden, N.C.) and Emma Mayer (Elizabeth City, N.C.) edged out Germany by 0.39 seconds to take a quarterfinals spot in Time Trial 2. The U.S. advances to the Under 19 Women's Double Sculls Quarterfinal 1 and will race tonight at 7:48 p.m. EDT.

U19 Mixed Double Sculls (CJMix2x)

Leland Angel (Hamilton, Ohio) and Olympia Catalino (Boston, Mass.) clinched a spot in the knockout rounds by edging out Romania by 0.32 seconds to earn the last qualifying spot in Time Trial 2. They advance to the next phase and will race again this evening in the last 16, with the first race of the round beginning at 2:02 a.m. EDT tomorrow. 

Tomorrow marks the final day of racing in Qingdao, with all remaining races moving up due to Wednesday’s weather forecast. Tomorrow will decide every World Rowing Beach Sprint title. Find the full schedule, results, and livestream here.