The USA won four Beach Sprints Medals in Genoa to top the medal table: Christopher Bak reclaimed the CM1x title he first won in 2022; Annelise Hahl triumphed in the junior women's single, then added a second gold with partner Annalie Duncomb in the CJW2x; and two-time Paralympic medallist Dani Hansen teamed with Gary Rought to earn silver in the debut of the PR3 Mixed 2x inclusion event.

Yet even Bak, the USA's most decorated Beach Sprint athlete, admitted that "nothing in Beach Sprints is guaranteed," and the wild weekend showcased both the unpredictability of the sport and the kinds of skills it takes to work with the waves for a win.

Storm surges and significant waves more suited to a surf contest scrubbed the first day of racing on Thursday, and the breakers remaining for the compressed time trials on Friday made advancing to the knockout stage challenging, particularly when the second, "repechage" set of time trials was cancelled altogether. That sidelined a number of athletes hoping to get back on track in that round, including last year's winners in the CMix2x, New Zealand's Jackie Kiddle and Matthew Dunham.

Dunham and Kiddle (NZL)

The Kiwi's first round finish (20th) was not enough to put them straight into the top 16 without the extra chance, and the USA's Christine Cavallo and Kory Rogers--24th in the initial time trial--also missed out on the second day of racing in the double.

Kiddle, a flat water Olympian with a fair amount of coastal experience to include that gold in 2023, was not the only familiar face from Paris 2024 stymied by Friday's conditions. Olympic singles champion Karolien Florijn had to be pulled from the surf after her double capsized on the way into the beach. Florijn was racing with her brother--and fellow Paris gold medallist--Finn, but their regatta ended there. The rest of the weekend was spent doing the boat handling and cheering for the youngest Florijn brother, Beer, who won a silver in the Dutch mixed quad.

Conditions did mellow somewhat over the weekend for the finals, but even in the last events on Sunday, the Men's and Women's Solos, Coastal's unique premium on the skill of reading and riding the waves was clear. Bak's win over the defending champ, Spain's Adrian Miramon Quiroga, was nip and tuck for the whole return leg, with each sculler catching successive rollers to speed himself towards the beach.

In the end, they hit the shore at nearly the same time and it was Quiroga's roll on the dismount that opened the way for Bak to finish it on the beach after a clean exit.

In the Women's Solo event, Austrian Olympian Magdelena Lobnig made it to the gold medal race, which she won, by managing the conditions in the semis just a bit better than New Zealand Olympic medalist Emma Twigg.

Lobnig (AUT), center, with silver medalist Clare Jamison (GBR) and bronze medal winner Emma Twigg (NZL)

Shared Boats Lead to Rigging Protest

Another unique feature of Coastal, the fact that all the boats are shared, played a role in a protest in the earlier rounds of that Women's Solo event on Sunday morning.

When the USA's Christine Cavallo, last year's bronze medallist in the event, hit the water in her Round of 16 race against Germany's Julia Tertuente, she realized something was off in the rig of the shell she had been assigned.

"Immediately, in the first few strokes, something was not exactly right with the blades," Cavallo said afterwards. "Normally, I take the catch too aggressively, and in this rowing I was missing the catch. I had to change my stroke pretty significantly and dropped my stroke rating down because, for some reason, the entry and exit into the water was really disrupted."

USA's Cavallo racing Saturday

Cavallo lost that match-up and, after she got to the beach and congratulated the German, learned that two other athletes who raced in that boat had already protested about shell's rigging to World Rowing. Cavallo, who had never made a protest in her career before this, decided to join the Canadian and Egyptian scullers' protests since it felt like the issues in her race had been caused by the shared equipment.

According to Cavallo, the rig in the starboard oarlock was found to be different--3 degrees instead of 4 degrees--and she said that she has seen warped oarlocks in other coastal events, but World Rowing told her that they had racing data that suggested what they found did not impact the results.

Ultimately, the protests were not upheld, and the event proceeded without Cavallo and the other two scullers, but Cavallo did say that World Rowing asked her how they could make the process better for the future; she is hoping that can happen and prevent such issues going forward.

"It's definitely frustrating," said Cavallo, "I also take responsibility that I had steering errors in that race. It was not my best race, but from the first stroke, it felt like a foreign experience. Myself, Canada, and Egypt have all chatted about it."

The US crews that did make it as far as the quarterfinals this year went four-for-four on making the A Final--and the three golds scooped up there put the USA squad at the top of the medal table for the first time. (Britain's third gold came in the PR3 event which was not included in the tally).

Bak Back On Top In CM1x

The Men's Solo event belongs to Chris Bak again: after food poisoning in 2023 derailed his defense of the title he first won in 2022, Bak led this year's competition throughout, from a time trial win to the exciting end of his dual with Spain's Quiroga. Combined with the gold Bak won in the CMix4+ last year, he now has three consecutive Beach Sprints titles.

His quarterfinal loss from a year ago was on his mind as he savored this win in Genoa.

"I think you need the losses to be motivated, to get a new goal to strive for," Bak told USRowing. "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."

Bak at work in the waves

Bak, who told World Rowing that he is very much eyeing LA2028 and the chance to become a Beach Sprints Olympian when the sport debuts there, was focused on this race all year.

"I was very excited to come into the beach race," Bak said, "especially after a challenging endurance race the previous weekend [where] my doubles partner, Kory Rogers, and I got hit and broke an oar, leaving us out of the race.

"After adverse weather complications and schedule changes, I knew that I would have to keep focused throughout the weekend. This year there were a lot of big names in the men’s solo field, as well as across the entire Beach Sprint competitors' list.

"After last year’s results, I knew that I had put in the training for this year, but nothing in Beach Sprints is guaranteed. Congratulations to all competitors for handling diverse conditions this weekend, which made for a fun race, with Beach Sprints competing at a higher and higher level leading to the Olympics."

Hahl Wins 2 Golds, Earns 2nd Win With Duncomb

Annelise Hahl, a veteran junior on her third Beach Sprints team, opened her weekend capturing the CJW1x gold that eluded her when she took silver in last year's final. Then on Sunday, Hahl, who has also represented the US at the U19 Worlds on flat water, doubled down with her CJW2x partner Annalie Duncomb to win a gold medal that capped their three year partnership--and added to the bronze the duo won in their Beach Sprints debut in 2022.

"I knew I had to give it everything I had," Hahl said after the racing. "I had put so much work into this, my coaches knew I had this, I had everyone cheering for me. It was such a fun race. This was my last year as under-19 and I needed that gold."

Hahl hitting the beach at full speed in the semi-final of the single

She was happy enough to celebrate with one of her patented Hahl handstands on the beach.

Hahl, who will be jetting back to the States to start her first year of rowing at the University of Washington, ended Saturday with Beach Sprints medals of every color from her three years on the team, but she and Duncomb had unfinished business in the double to attend to on Sunday.

A year ago, the duo missed out on repeating as medallists when the surf spun them sideways in a quarterfinal they were leading and they got excluded for impeding the Italians. This year, they left no doubt, powering past France, Peru and finally Spain to win the gold.

Hahl and Duncomb with gold together at last

"I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have had the incredible opportunity to race with Annelise for three years now," Duncomb said. "This year we had our hearts set on gold and could not be happier with our results. Last one, fast one!"

PR3 Debut Nets Silver for USA

The USA entry in the new PR3 event, which teams a Para athlete and an able bodied in a double, featured Paralympian Dani Hansen in her first go at the discipline along with Beach Sprint veteran Gary Rought, who won a silver in the junior men's double in 2022.

The pair got together at US Trials this year and, according to Rought, their combo "just clicked," which helped since the duo did not row together again until arriving in Italy for the endurance Coastals two weeks ago.

The support of the team helped make up the difference, said Hansen, and especially, as she put it, "the knowledge from our teammates who have been trailblazing in this sport for the USA.

Rought and Hansen attacking the opening strokes in the surf

"Our coaches Marc Oria and Ben Booth have set up a really empowering team culture that allows for rookies like me to feel free to ask questions and make mistakes along the way, helping to speed up my learning curve. Gary, being a veteran, has been an incredible boat partner and teammate. His course and steering is amazing. During our last three races he nailed it every time even through the constantly changing conditions which was a game changer for us.

"Racing three times in a row was something I hadn’t experienced before," Hansen said about the Beach Sprints Finals format. "It was super exhilarating and physically challenging. I found that the more mentally relaxed and present I could be the easier everything went. The ability to continue thinking clearly in this sport is a huge help and having supportive coaches, teammates and family surrounding us during the event was extremely helpful."

Rought who said, "it took a lot out of us to beat the Italians in the semi," thought they had their best start and course against the strong British combo in the final. "It was one hell of a race, but you can't complain when walking away with a silver medal."

Sculling has been a year-round pursuit for Rought, even now as a college student. He raced the single last spring for Stetson, winning a Dad Vail bronze as a freshman, before transferring to Marietta this year.

Rought and Hansen with silver

"Getting lots and lots of miles under my belt, especially the fun marathons during spring break, with days if not weeks dedicated to just working on specific parts of the stroke, helps out a lot when you come to do something as intense and adrenaline filled as Coastal," he said. "You don't have time to really think about how your catches look, or if you are exiting with the blade properly [in Coastal] when it's hectic and all in your face at once.

"But when your legs are shot and you are rushing up to the next stroke, it all comes down to the fundamentals that you have from these long days of steady state and drill work, and that's what makes the difference."

Hansen, who has been racing in Para events on flat water since 2014 and won Paralympic silver in 2016 and 2020, hailed the inclusion of the PR3 event.

"At the end of the day, the more inclusive we can be in any situation, the better it will be for everyone involved," said Hansen, "and I’m just super happy that Gary and I got to leave with a medal to remember such an awesome experience."

Notes From the Beach

Going Looney - It was a unique venue for some of the shots this weekend, especially when this Looney Tunes themed cruise ship made its way through the adjacent shipping lane.

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Olympians Taking Note, and Taking Part - World Rowing ran an article rounding up the many Olympians that could be spotted Beach Sprinting this year, and now that the event is officially on the horizon as part of the LA Games, that number is ticking up. It includes a few folks who retired after the 2012 Games but are now looking at Beach Sprints as an Olympic comeback vehicle--like GBR's Charles Cousins and NZL's M2x gold medalist from the London Games, Joseph Sullivan--as well as some Olympians who might be dodging retirement altogether: NZL's Emma Twigg told World Rowing that competing again at Beach Sprints year was "very much a fact-finding mission for this sport" for her. An LA Games appearance would be Twigg's sixth Games in a row.

Toes in the, er, Pebbles - the beaches of Genoa are more pebbly than sandy, which did cut down on the "dive for the buzzer" finishes you typically see in spades at Beach Sprints...and also inspired a lot of approaches to footwear, from socks to booties to the full-on running shoes that GBR coxswain Ryan Glymond used to get his crew's gold medal run going against the Dutch.

And This Year's "Only at Beach Sprints" Photo - hard to top Friday's terrifying landing for Brazil's Kissya Da Costa Cataldo, when a wave knocked her out of the stroke seat and into into the beach head-first:

She reported to row2k afterward that she was fine, and she continued racing on Sunday, but it was a scary moment for sure.