QINGDAO, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- China won one gold and one bronze medal as the 2026 World Rowing Coastal Championships concluded Tuesday in Qingdao, Shandong Province.
Zhang Yuanyuan and Sun Luping claimed gold in the women's double sculls, while compatriots Long Zhentao and Yang Yujiao took bronze in the mixed double sculls.
Zhang and Sun made a strong start in the women's double sculls final, establishing an early lead before maintaining their advantage to the finish. The pair avoided collisions involving rival crews around the turning buoys to secure the title.
"The waves were really big during the race, and at one point I wasn't sure how things would turn out. But we performed well throughout, and I'm proud that we were able to win for our country," Sun said.
Zhang said the race demanded quick decisions when navigating the turning buoys, adding that winning a world title in her home province of Shandong made the achievement particularly special.
Americans Kory Rogers and Christopher Bak won the men's double sculls, overcoming challenging wind conditions.
"You can't tell on camera, but the wind is really strong today; the surface of the water is pretty flat, but you really felt that heavy, heavy wind," Bak said.
"We kept pushing. You never know what can happen on a buoy."
France's Alexis Fortier produced a late comeback to win the men's solo title, edging Bak by just 0.79 seconds after recovering from an early setback.
"I was involved in a clash at the second buoy and I lost some ground, then I managed to catch up person by person and got past," Fortier said. "I never gave up and carried on to the finish. It went well and I'm very happy."
The United States also won the women's solo and women's coxed quadruple sculls titles, while Italy took gold in the men's coxed quadruple sculls and Finland prevailed in the mixed double sculls.
The United States topped the medal table with three golds and two silvers and received the national federation trophy.
Qingdao will next host the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, beginning October 18.
Beach sprint rowing, which combines a running start on the beach with a short rowing course, will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. ■
