Benjamin Pritchard hopes to be injury-free for his world-title defence in Amsterdam after overcoming a freak hoist accident to retain his European PR1 men’s single sculls crown in Varese.
The 34-year-old Welshman defeated Italy’s Giacomo Perini on Sunday 2 August, taking control during the final 250 metres after a race in which the lead repeatedly changed. His winning time was 9:07.88. “I’m managing a niggle: I had an accident at the airport where I fell off the transfer chair, so I had a bit of a bump,” said Pritchard, speaking to Row360 after the race. Pritchard’s preparation had been disrupted on arrival in Italy when the cable on a hoist used to lift him onto the team coach snapped.
“When I landed in Italy, there was a malfunction on the hoist that got me on to the coach and the cable snapped, so it dropped me from the top of the hoist to the bottom, which obviously causes a bit of an injury, which I was managing throughout the championships,” Pritchard later told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
The injury made the Paralympic champion doubt whether he could beat Perini, who had recorded the quicker time across the two heats on his home course.
“I actually thought I may not have come out on top given the injury that I was coping with, but I’m glad I did,” Pritchard said. “It’s probably one of the best races we’ve had in in a couple of years because it was neck and neck until the last 250m.”
Perini Pushes the Pace
Pritchard led early before Perini moved ahead, while Ukraine’s Roman Polianskyi also challenged during the opening stages. With 600 metres remaining, the contest had narrowed to the defending champion and the Italian.
A headwind complicated the final after thunder and lightning had suspended the morning’s racing for more than 90 minutes. Rather than follow each move around him, Pritchard held to the plan set with coach David Breen.
“I didn’t really know what was happening out on the course,” Pritchard said after the final. “I was trying to focus on what I was doing. With the delay to racing, the headwind, and conditions changing, you can get caught up in what everyone else is doing. David and I were really clear about sticking to my race plan and trying to execute that.”
Perini continued to come through Pritchard, but the Welsh sculler used his clock to judge the Italian’s speed against the conditions. He resisted each challenge before opening the decisive margin approaching the line.
Perini had the national crowd behind him, but Varese is also familiar water for Pritchard. The Great Britain squad trains there twice each year, and he has visited the venue for nine years.
“It feels like a home to me, and the club members know me and all that kind of stuff, so I feel that actually I had a good share of the support in the stands,” he said.
Dedicating Europeans Win to the Williams Family
The victory was also personal for Pritchard. Andrew Williams, who coaches him on Swansea’s River Tawe, had lost his father on the Tuesday before the final.
“The reason why this is so special is that my coach on the River Tawe, Andrew Williams, his father passed away on Tuesday,” Pritchard said. “This was done for the Williams family and for everything they do for me. Thank you to them and to everyone in the GB Rowing Team for getting me here in this shape.”
Pritchard has remained unbeaten since winning Paralympic gold at Paris 2024. He claimed his first world title in Shanghai last year, then arrived in Varese as the defending European champion following his 2025 victory in Plovdiv.
Speed Work Before Amsterdam
Pritchard and his British teammates remained in Varese after the championships for a final training block before the World Rowing Championships, held at Amsterdam’s Bosbaan from 24 to 30 August.
The camp puts Pritchard alongside Australian rival Erik Horrie, another leading PR1 sculler. Horrie won Paralympic silver at Rio 2016 and has been training in Varese during the build-up to Amsterdam.
“We do a load of speed work in this last block now for the world championships, so I’m hoping that that’ll set me in good stead for the future,” Pritchard said.
“I have just seen my competitor Erik Horrie from Australia training this morning, and he looks really fast as well. So hopefully we can get a good race but it’s an outdoor sport – anything could happen.”
