News

Posted: 6 July 2026

Henley Royal Regatta 2026 proved to be a landmark week for Scottish rowing, with Edinburgh University Boat Club celebrating a first Henley victory in seven years, the University of St Andrews reaching its first ever final, and Scottish rowers involved in wins across some of the Regatta’s most prestigious events.

The Regatta concluded on Sunday after a memorable week on the Henley course, with a record 17 Scottish club, school and university crews represented in the main draw.

For Edinburgh University Boat Club, the standout moment came in the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup. Josh Matthews and Freddy Foxwell were part of the Nautilus Rowing Club and Edinburgh University composite crew that defeated Leander Club in Sunday’s final by 1¼ lengths, crossing the line in 6:23.

The victory was a significant moment for Edinburgh. It was the club’s first Henley Royal Regatta title since 2019, when EUBC won the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup in a composite crew with Nottingham Rowing Club, and only the third Henley title in the club’s history.

The crew had been formed from athletes involved in the GB Rowing Team Under 23 trialling process and produced a composed final performance to secure one of the most notable results for Scottish rowing this week.

For Foxwell, a former St Andrew Boat Club athlete, the win added a second Henley title to the Fawley Challenge Cup he won with Leander Club in 2023. For Matthews, a GB Rowing Team Under 19 and Under 23 international who previously rowed for Stirling Rowing Club and Strathclyde Park Rowing Club, it was a first victory at Henley Royal Regatta.

There was also a breakthrough performance from the University of St Andrews, as Hansine Marshall and Natasha Phillips became the first St Andrews crew to reach a Henley Royal Regatta final.

Having come through the qualification process, Marshall and Phillips made a major impression in the Stonor Challenge Trophy, racing with confidence and control through the earlier rounds before facing Waiariki Rowing Club’s Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors of New Zealand in Sunday’s final.

The New Zealand crew arrived with the highest possible pedigree, having won Olympic gold in the women’s double sculls at Paris 2024. Marshall and Phillips were not overawed, making a sharp start and briefly edging ahead in the early stages before the experience and quality of the Olympic champions showed.

Although the final went the way of Francis and Spoors, the St Andrews performance was one of the most significant Scottish stories of the Regatta. It was a result that reflected both the progress being made at the club under Lewis McCue, Director of Rowing at the University of St Andrews, and the quality of two rowers more commonly seen competing in the emerging discipline of Beach Sprints. For Marshall, who is only in her second full season in the sport, reaching a Henley Royal Regatta final was another marker of her rapid development.

Both had also enjoyed success at Henley Women’s Regatta earlier in the season. Phillips won the Aspirational Academic double scull alongside Natacha Searson, while Marshall reached the final of the Championship single scull.

Beyond the headline results, that record level of representation was matched by performances of real quality across the week. In the junior events, George Heriot’s School secured its first ever victories at the Regatta in the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup, overcoming Claires Court School before defeating selected crew Los Gatos Rowing Club, USA. George Watson’s College also produced one of the standout Scottish performances of the early rounds in the Fawley Challenge Cup, defeating Los Gatos Rowing Club A, another crew selected by the Stewards. Together, those results underlined the growing strength of school rowing in Scotland.

Strathclyde Park Rowing Club also enjoyed a notable week. In the first year of the Danesfield Challenge Cup, introduced for women’s club quadruple sculls, the club made its own piece of history by reaching the semi-finals on Saturday. There were also strong performances in the single sculling events, with clubmate Nazanin Malaei, who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, reaching the quarter-finals of the Princess Royal Challenge Cup, while Scottish champion Ben Parsonage of Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club reached the same stage of the Diamond Challenge Sculls.

Tom Young, Head of Performance at Scottish Rowing, said:

There were also several Henley titles for rowers with Scottish connections, and for athletes who had developed through Scottish clubs, schools and universities.

Calum Young, formerly of George Heriot’s School, Strathclyde University Boat Club and Glasgow Rowing Club, was a Henley winner with Thames Rowing Club. Young raced in the Thames Rowing Club A crew that won the Thames Challenge Cup, defeating London Rowing Club A in the final.

In the Grand Challenge Cup, Archie Drummond and Miles Beeson were part of the Oxford Brookes University and Leander Club crew that defeated Team Italia, Italy. The crew is the current Great Britain men’s eight, with Beeson having previously come through Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association.

James Robson, a former Scotland Rowing Team athlete, was also among the winners. Robson raced in the Leander Club crew that won the Stewards’ Challenge Cup, defeating Nautilus Rowing Club in the final. The crew is the current Great Britain men’s four, having arrived at Henley as reigning world champions and recent World Cup winners.

Former Edinburgh University Boat Club athletes Immy Wolstencroft and Clara O’Doherty were also part of a winning crew, racing in the Thames Rowing Club A crew that won the Wargrave Challenge Cup by defeating Thames Rowing Club B in an all-Thames final.

Lee Boucher, Chief Executive of Scottish Rowing, said: