For a sport often associated with centuries-old traditions and elite international institutions, rowing is proving that South Africa can compete at the sharp end of the global stage.
The RMB National Rowing Squad has opened its 2026 international campaign with encouraging performances in Switzerland and England, giving the team valuable momentum ahead of the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam this September.
Four South Africans carried the national colours across two major regattas: Courtney Westley, Katherine Williams, Paige Badenhorst and Chris Baxter.
And while medals were not the headline, their performances against some of the world’s strongest rowers delivered something arguably just as important at this stage of the season: belief.
Testing Themselves Against The Best
At World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland, the South Africans went head-to-head with world-class competition on the famous Rotsee course.
Westley and Williams finished eighth in the women’s pair, while Badenhorst placed ninth in the women’s single sculls. Baxter finished 15th in the men’s single sculls.
Those results might look modest on paper, but international rowing is measured in fractions, and racing at this level provides crucial information about where athletes stand against the world’s best.
The squad then moved to England for the Henley Royal Regatta, where the stakes — and the history — were even greater.
Badenhorst Takes the Fight to an Olympic Medallist
One of the standout moments came from Paige Badenhorst in the Princess Royal Challenge Cup.
The South African reached the semi-finals before narrowly losing to Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig by just half a length. Lobnig is an Olympic bronze medallist and former European champion, underlining just how significant the contest was.
Badenhorst’s run was a reminder that South African athletes are not travelling overseas simply to participate. They are increasingly arriving with the confidence to challenge established international names.
Chris Baxter also reached the semi-finals of the Diamond Challenge Sculls, while Westley and Williams advanced to the quarter-finals of the Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup.
A New Coach, A New Chapter
Behind the performances is a fresh chapter for the national programme under new coach Andrew Grant.
Lucerne and Henley represented Grant’s first international assignments with the squad, making the results an early indicator of how the programme is developing under his leadership.
For athletes targeting Amsterdam — and ultimately the bigger Olympic ambition of Los Angeles 2028 — these races are about more than results.
They are opportunities to sharpen race strategy, understand international competition and discover what separates a strong performance from a podium performance.
Why This Matters for South Africa
South African sport has a deep tradition of punching above its weight internationally. Rowing now has an opportunity to add another layer to that story.
For young South Africans, the squad’s campaign offers a powerful reminder that global sporting stages are not reserved for the obvious mainstream codes.
From the township basketball court to the skatepark, athletics track and now the rowing course, South African sporting talent continues to find new ways to travel beyond home shores.
Amsterdam is next.
With the international season underway and valuable racing experience already banked, the RMB National Rowing Squad has reason to believe its biggest performances of 2026 could still be ahead.
