Benjamin Pritchard defended his European title as part of a successful week for British Rowing at the European Rowing Championships.

Great Britain win five gold and one silver medal on Lake Varese in Lombardy, northern Italy, with Pritchard beating home favourite Giacomo Perini to win gold in the PR1 men’s single sculls final.

Pritchard led out with a fast start, before Italy’s Giacomo Perini snatched the advantage back.

Come halfway, the lead was back with Pritchard and despite the roar of the home support, Perini couldn’t overhaul Pritchard, and the Paralympic Champion won back-to-back European titles as he continued to build towards the World Rowing Championships.

“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.”

Lauren Henry worked her way through the field to take gold in the Women’s Single Scull and win back-to-back European titles in this boat class. The 2024 Olympic Champion had clear water come the finish, winning by more than four seconds on Lago di Varese.

“I was really pleased with the race today, and very pleased to defend my European Championship title,” said Henry.

“The thing for us is that we have our sights set on Amsterdam in three weeks’ time, so we’re buildings towards that and seeing what we can take from this race towards the World Championships.”

The PR3 Mixed Coxed Four broke the previous European Best Time, held by Great Britain since 2023.

Their time of 06:47.80 meant they knocked 4.7 seconds off the previous record. This was a first international win for Charlotte Coburn, Jonty Ridley, and Omar Al-Miqdadi, who won on their debut for Great Britain.

Josh O’Brien and Frankie Allen were part of the Paris Paralympic winning crew and continue a legacy that has seen Great Britain win every World Championship and Paralympic race since 2011.

Elsewhere, there was a debut victory for a new Men’s Four crew of Theo Bell, Sam Ford, Josh Brangan, and Tom O’Sullivan, won their heat before taking the final by storm, holding off a mighty sprint from Romania in the closing stages.

Their time of 05:43.38 beat Romania’s European Best Time set last year by 0.7 seconds.

GB won golds in the men’s and women’s four, and the PR3 mixed coxed four, as well as individual titles for Pritchard and Henry.

Five golds and one silver medal saw the GB team finish third on the medal table behind Romania and Germany.

The event in Varese is taking place prior to the 2026 World Championships, which run from 24-30 August in the Netherlands.

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