Great Britain celebrated two gold medal victories at the European Rowing Championships held in Italy, with Lauren Henry and Benjamin Pritchard both taking the top spot on the podium. Henry, fresh off her Olympic success in the quadruple sculls at the 2024 Paris Games, surged during the latter half of her race to secure victory and defend her women’s single sculls title. Similarly, Benjamin Pritchard successfully retained his crown in the PR1 men’s single sculls, besting Italy’s Giacomo Perini.
While the individual rowers triumphed, the women’s eight crew, featuring Annie Campbell-Orde, Lauren Irwin, Katherine George, Heidi Long, Megan Slabbert, Amelia Standing, Eve Stewart, Elizabeth Witt, and cox Jack Tottem, finished in second place. They trailed the Romanian team by over five seconds, earning a silver medal. These results bolster the British team’s performance, adding to the three gold medals secured on Saturday. The competition in Varese serves as a key preparatory event for the upcoming World Championships, scheduled for late August 2026 in the Netherlands, though the British men’s team is currently training at an altitude camp in Silvretta and is not competing in Italy.
