Rowing Canada Aviron has selected their athletes for the 2026 World Rowing Championships, entering five boats at Amsterdam’s Bosbaan from 24–30 August.
Canada will contest the men’s single and coxless four, alongside the women’s double, quad and eight. The team will attend a European training camp before racing begins.
The Canadian roster includes athletes with previous Olympic and World championship experience and others preparing for their senior debuts. In addition to proven U23 talent, Canadian stalwarts Kristen Kit and Trevor Jones return to the international circuit.
The selection reflects a programme looking beyond Amsterdam to Los Angeles 2028 and the Brisbane Olympic cycle.
How to Watch the 2026 World Rowing Championships
Men’s Programme Builds Depth
Six athletes have been named in the senior men’s squad, covering the men’s single and four, including Tokyo M1x Olympian Trevor Jones.
Head coach Lauren Fisher said the programme had invested in younger athletes since the Paris Olympics while developing its National Training Centre group.
“We are being deliberate in the progression of our senior men’s program,” Fisher said. “Since the Paris Olympic Games, our focus has been on strengthening the pathway by investing in our junior and under 23 athletes, while continuing to develop our young National Training Centre senior squad. This approach is about building the depth and robustness required not only for Los Angeles 2028, but also for the Brisbane Olympic cycle and beyond.”
Ryan Clegg, who stroked the men’s four in Seville and Plovdiv, said the World Cup circuit had given the men a better understanding of race dynamics and the standard required to compete internationally. The subsequent training block focused on applying those lessons in race-specific pieces and situations.
The men’s four were B-finalists in the first and second World Cups, finishing twelfth in Seville and seventh in Plovdiv.
2026 World Rowing Championships
Women Field Three Crews
Canada’s women’s squad will race the women’s double, quad and eight, with Tokyo W8+ champion Kristen Kit named as coxswain. Tom Morris, Canada’s senior women’s head coach, said Amsterdam offers a chance to measure the squad’s progress against the best international crews.
“It’s been a year of consistent growth across the squad, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to measure that progress against the best crews in the world,” Morris said. “We’ve got a strong blend of experienced athletes and emerging talent, and this World Championships is another important step in our journey. Our focus is on delivering performances that reflect the quality of our preparation.”
In Seville Alizée Brien and Avalon Wasteneys finished twelfth in the women’s double and Canada’s women’s quad finished fourth, 4.76 seconds behind the Romanian bronze medallists.
Photo Kristen Kit has represented Canada at four Olympic and Paralympic Games. She made her debut in London 2012 Paralympics. She won bronze with her PR3 Mix4+ crew in Rio 2016, four years before coxing the Canadian W8+ to victory at the Tokyo Olympics. In Paris her W8+ crew won Olympic silver.
The selected athletes are:
Senior men
- Ryan Clegg
- Axel Ewashko
- Aidan Hembruff
- Trevor Jones
- Steven Rosts
- Samuel Stuart
Senior women
- Alizée Brien
- Katie Clark
- Alexis Cronk
- Cassidy Dean
- Shaye DePaiva
- Marilou Duvernay Tardif
- Sally Jones
- Kristen Kit, coxswain
- Martine Nyhof
- Alexandra Pidgeon
- Kristen Siermachesky
- Maylie Valiquette
- Grace Vandenbroek
- Avalon Wasteneys
A Full Bosbaan Programme
Amsterdam is set to welcome over 850 athletes from 64 nations, and the programme features 23 boat classes.
Opened in 1937, the Bosbaan was the Netherlands’ first rowing course built specifically for the sport. It also hosted the World Rowing Championships in 1977 and 2014, with more than 40,000 spectators on hand in 2014.
In the men’s single, Canada’s only men’s sculling entry, the draw is the biggest at the championships, with athletes from 40 nations. Among the field are Greece’s reigning world champion Stefanos Ntouskos and Germany’s Oliver Zeidler.
Canadian viewers can follow the regatta through CBC Sports’ rowing schedule. Heats begin on Monday 24 August, with A-finals spread across the final four days.
