Congratulations to the following Mercs Member selected in the Australian World Championships crews announced today.

Rowing Australia reported as follows:

Australia has locked down its squad for September’s World Rowing Championships in Serbia, with Olympic and Paralympic quota spots on the line as the cream of the sport prepares to take to the water in Belgrade.

The Green and Gold charge is spearheaded by seven reigning Olympic champions and a Silver Medal winner from the Tokyo Paralympic Games, with all crews aiming to qualify boats for Paris in 2024 in their respective classes.

The Australians head to the World Championships on the back of strong season of racing in Europe, with the Men’s and Women’s Four, the Women’s Pair, Women’s Single and Men’s Eight among the medal contenders in Belgrade. The PR3 Mixed Double, a new Paralympic event, is also an exceptionally strong boat for the Australian contingent.

The Men’s Four of Alex Hill OAM, Jack Hargreaves OAM, Spencer Turrin OAM, Alex Purnell OAM will continue their rivalry with the boat from Great Britain after some tight racing across the World Cup campaign, while Lucy Stephan OAM leads a new-look Women’s Four that also features Giorgia Pattern, Katrina Werry, Sarah Hawe.

And all eyes will be on the resurgent Men’s Eight, who won Gold for the first time in 36 years after beating out favourites Great Britain in World Cup III in Lucerne. With just 0.61s between the boats on that occasion, it promises to be another nailbiter in Belgrade.

The all-conquering Pair of Annabelle McIntyre OAM and Jess Morrison OAM will be gunning for another undefeated regatta after sweeping all before them in two World Cups. They will be aiming to ensure they continue that momentum as they attempt to qualify a boat for Paris 2024 and find a way onto the top of the podium.

The ever-improving Tara Rigney, who won Bronze in the Single Scull in 2022, has been another strong performer over recent months, while the Para Rowing contingent will head into the regatta featuring record-shattering PR3 Mixed Double duo Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager and established Para Rowing star Erik Horrie in the PR1 Single.

The World Rowing Championships will be held from September 3-10 at the Ada Ciganlija Regatta Course in Belgrade. Champions will be crowed across 14 Olympic boat classes (seven women, seven men) as well as eight International boat classes for lightweight rowers. Para-rowers compete in nine boat classes, with five being Paralympic boat classes.

The Mercantile Members in the team are:

Men's eight

Stroke: Angus Widdicombe, 5: Jack Robertson

Men's Pair

Fergus Hamilton

Women’s Pair

Jessica Morrison OAM

Women’s Four

Katrina Werry

Women’s Eight

Hayley Verbunt (Coxswain), Paige Barr,

PR3 Mixed Coxed Four

Jessica Gallagher

Go Mercs