The International Rowing Federation (World Rowing) and its president, the Frenchman Jean-Christophe Rolland, can rub their hands: sea rowing and its new form, beach sprinting, are showing very promising form. The 2023 World Rowing Championships start next week in Barletta, in the Italian region of Puglia. It promises to be a record-breaking event. The beach sprint will open the competition, from 29 September to 1 October, with an unprecedented 187 crews from 39 nations, including countries as far afield as New Zealand, Peru, Japan and the United States. Sea rowing will follow from 6 to 8 October, at the same Italian venue, with 258 crews expected to take part. Beach sprinting is on the programme of the Dakar Youth Olympic Games in 2026, and of the Commonwealth Games in the same year, at a venue yet to be determined. The discipline has also been proposed by World Rowing to the IOC for inclusion in the programme of the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
