Chris Bak regained the top step of the podium in the men’s solo after illness took him out of the running last year. Annelise Hahl and Annalie Duncomb were able to end their junior’s career on a high note, winning gold in the U19 women’s double sculls. Yesterday, Hahl won gold for the first time in the U19 women’s solo and the PR3 mixed double sculls won silver in the first year of the Para event’s inception. The 2024 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals concluded with four total medals, three gold and one silver.
Chris Bak got off the beach with a small lead in the knockout round, but the two rowers stayed close down the course, trading blows back and forth. The victory came down to the sprint where Bak was able to pull ahead. In the final heavier waves than previous races rolled in, but Bak handled them like a champion. His opponent, Spain’s Adrian Miramon Quiroga, got caught right off the beach, giving Bak an early lead. The two were neck and neck through the turn, but Bak used the waves to his advantage and pulled away from Spain. Quiroga was able to close on Bak coming into the beach, with both shells arriving on shore at once. Bak proved once again to have the speed on shore, gaining a sizable lead in his sprint to victory.
On returning to the podium this year, Bak said “It feels great, you know. I think you need the losses to be motivated, to get a new goal to strive for. I think it’s important to have those setbacks. If you’re on top all the time, it’s hard. It’s really hard. I love a good comeback story, so this means a lot.”
When asked how he would be celebrating his victory, he replied, “I really want a cheeseburger, to be honest. I love Italy. I love pasta. I love pizza. But I really want a cheeseburger.”
Annelise Hahl and Annalie Duncomb were victorious in the U19 women’s double, returning to the podium to claim gold after a collision last year cost them the competition. In the semifinal, Hahl and Duncomb had a strong start while Peru struggled to get off the beach, allowing the U.S. crew to take an early lead. They worked to capitalize on the lead throughout the race, continually widening the gap.
In the final against Spain, Hahl and Duncomb focused on honoring their final race as junior athletes. They battled with Spain through the midway point with just under a second separating the crews. In the second half of the race, the U.S. attacked their race, building on their margin and gaining speed on the fight back to the beach. They won in a time of 2:38.93, over 12.73 seconds ahead of Spain.
In the knockout round of the Open Women’s Solo, Christine Cavallo had a commanding lead coming into the turn, but veered off course following the turn and was unable to get her footing back. Cavallo finished 5.37 seconds behind Germany’s Julia Tertuente.
Beach Sprints was added to the LA 2028 Olympic program and this style of rowing continues to grow in the U.S. To learn more about this style of rowing, resources are available here.
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