LONG BEACH, Calif. – It’s a beach run, a coastal row and a music party rolled into one, and it’s about to become an Olympic event.
On a sunny Southern California morning, nearly two dozen athletes gathered to try their hand at beach sprints at a camp run by USRowing in Long Beach, not far from where the inaugural Olympic races will be held in 2028.
Many were long-time flatwater rowers who wanted to take a shot at something new. Others were already hooked on the quick-paced and unpredictable race format and have been training with an eye on LA28. Two at a time, athletes run to the waterline, hop in a boat, row a slalom course, then turn around and return to shore to jump out and dash across the sand to hit a finish-line buzzer — all in about three minutes.
“You don’t just have to be a good rower — you also have to be a good athlete, and what that means is you’ve got to be able to be dynamic and adapt to whatever Mother Nature throws at you,” said Maurice Scott, a long-time rower from Philadelphia who moved to Long Beach to prepare for the Olympics.
The next summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles and nearby cities. Interest in beach sprints has risen since the International Olympic Committee announced its inclusion, especially since the games will no longer feature a lightweight rowing category popular among smaller athletes.
Rowing officials developed the beach sprint format a little over a decade ago hoping to engage spectators in a sport that’s otherwise removed from people watching from the shore. A standard 2,000 meter-flatwater race is typically only visible closer to the finish line.
In beach sprints, athletes compete close to the crowds in a dynamic and much shorter race that fans can easily track from the sand. Guin Batten, chair of World Rowing’s coastal commission, said the vision is to have a fun, lively event on the beach where spectators can listen to good music, be close to the action and follow their favorite athletes. The entire event runs just an hour.
“It’s knockout. It’s chaotic,” said Batten, an Olympic rower who helped develop the format. “Until you cross a finish line, anyone can win that race.”
Many traditional flatwater rowers accustomed to steady strokes on calm waterways have no interest in the ups and downs of wind and waves.
But other long-time rowers are hooked. Christine Cavallo, a beach sprinter on the U.S. national team, said she loves the unpredictability of the waves, which can humble even the most incredible athletes.
“You could be the best rower in the world and get flipped by the wave,” Cavallo said.
Coastal rowing has long been popular throughout the world but different cultures have used different boats and rules. Part of the appeal of beach sprints is the boat has been standardized and is provided at competitions, which makes it easier for more athletes to try it.
The first major international beach sprints competition was at the 2015 Mediterranean Beach Games in Italy.
Head of the Charles, known for its yearly October flatwater regatta in Massachusetts, hosted its first beach sprints event in July. About 100 rowers, twice as many as expected, participated, said Brendan Mulvey, race director.
Since the Olympic announcement, Tom Pattichis, British Rowing’s head coach for beach sprints, said he now has athletes training full-time in the event.
Meanwhile, Marc Oria, the USA Beach Sprint head coach, said camps in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Long Beach aim to bring the race to long-time rowers and others who haven’t tried it. Athletes find it exhilarating because it requires them to be agile and adaptive as well as superb rowers, he said.
“It’s growing exponentially in the last four years all around the world,” Oria said. “Our goal for U.S. rowing is to create more events, more opportunities, and to create a good pipeline for 2028.”
At the camp in Long Beach, competitors included a teacher, an Olympic rower, a marketing professional who began rowing a few weeks earlier and a high school senior.
“I tried it and I really loved it, so I came back,” said Bridgette Hanson, a 17-year-old rower from Arizona who raced in beach sprints for the first time this year in Florida. “It requires a lot more brute force.”
John Wojtkiewicz, coach of the Long Beach Coastal Team, called out to racers to help guide them through the course. He said he’s eager to see how the Olympic venue is set up and hopes spectators can get a good view like they do at surfing events.
“What is great about the beach sprint — and this may have helped its development — is you can watch the entire race,” Wojtkiewicz said. “Anything can happen.”
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