Lymington Amateur Rowing Club won six medals at the English Junior Beach Sprint Championships on 11 August, including five of the six in the J16 events.

Lymington Amateur Rowing Club took five of the six medals available in the J16 events at the English Junior Beach Sprint Championships at Knoll Beach, Studland, on Monday 11 August, and six medals in total across the day.

The championships drew 53 competitors from 26 clubs across the UK, according to British Rowing’s report published the following day. One club from a town of Lymington’s size taking most of an age group is not a normal afternoon’s work.

What Lymington won

In the Open J16, the club filled the podium. Alex Breese took gold. Jay Main took silver after beating clubmate Harry Morgan in the semi-finals, and Harry Morgan then won the B Final against Ethan Foley of Coalporters Rowing Club to complete a Lymington one, two, three.

In the Women’s J16, Sienna Mordaunt took silver. She had won the closest women’s race of the day on the way there, beating Isla Mitchell of Queen Elizabeth High School Rowing Club by 0.02 seconds on the finish buzzer, before losing the final to Lara Til-Awny of Falcon Rowing Club. Ella Gray took the bronze in the medal match against Mitchell.

In the Open J18, Brage Wallis beat Jacob Lloyd of Hexham Rowing Club to bronze. Zara Gray reached the semi-finals of the Women’s J18 and lost the bronze medal match to Hexham’s Emily Lunt, so finished fourth.

Lymington Amateur Rowing Club's six medals at the 2026 English Junior Beach Sprint Championships A table of results. Open J16: gold Alex Breese, silver Jay Main, bronze Harry Morgan, all Lymington, a clean sweep of the three medals. Women's J16: gold Lara Til-Awny of Falcon Rowing Club, silver Sienna Mordaunt of Lymington, bronze Ella Gray of Lymington. Open J18: bronze Brage Wallis of Lymington. Women's J18: Zara Gray of Lymington finished fourth. In total Lymington took one gold, two silvers and three bronzes, five of the six J16 medals. Five of the six J16 medals went to one New Forest club English Junior Beach Sprint Championships, Knoll Beach, Studland, 11 August 2026. Lymington entries in bold. EVENT GOLD SILVER BRONZE Open J16 Alex Breese Jay Main Harry Morgan Women's J16 Lara Til-Awny Sienna Mordaunt Ella Gray Open J18 Valen Giacchetto Tom Biddle Brage Wallis Women's J18 Emma Nicholson Lexi Gill Emily Lunt Lymington Lymington Lymington Falcon RC Lymington Lymington Christchurch RC club not stated Lymington Hexham RC Poole ARC Hexham RC Lymington's total: 6 medals from 53 athletes and 26 clubs 1 gold 2 silver 3 bronze Zara Gray of Lymington finished fourth in the Women's J18 after losing the bronze medal match. Source: British Rowing report on the 2026 English Junior Beach Sprint Championships, 12 August 2026. Graphic by New Forest Daily.
Every medal at the championships, with Lymington's six marked. Graphic by New Forest Daily.

Why this club keeps turning up

Lymington was named British Rowing Affiliated Club of the Year in the 2025 British Rowing Awards, announced in December 2025 and presented in person at a ceremony held after the Head of the River Race on Saturday 28 March 2026. The club’s award was collected by its captain, Sue Morant, alongside committee members and junior rowers.

British Rowing’s account of the Studland results points at a deliberate choice rather than luck. It describes Lymington as having been “early adopters of a Beach Sprint focus in their junior programme”. Beach sprints are a different sport from river rowing: athletes sprint down the sand, row a short course round a buoy, come back in and run to hit a buzzer. Several of the J16 field at Studland had come through British Rowing’s Nottingham Early Identification Event and its regional camps only weeks earlier.

Sue Morant, the club captain, said: “We’re extremely proud of all our athletes competing at the English Junior Beach Sprint Championships this weekend. The continued success across the board is a great reflection of the environment we’re working to create at Lymington, supporting athletes from juniors through to masters.”

On collecting the Club of the Year award in March she said being named Club of the Year “reflects the dedication of our athletes, coaches, volunteers and families, all of whom contribute to the positive, supportive community we’re so proud of”.

What it means for you

If you have a child who might take to this, the route in is the club, not a trial. Beach sprints reward sprinting and boat handling as much as rowing technique, which is why athletes new to the discipline reached medal matches at Studland after a three-day camp. Lymington Amateur Rowing Club runs its own junior programme and lists its sessions and contact details on its own website.

The racing is close enough to be worth watching. Two of the day’s results turned on the buzzer rather than the water, including a 0.02 second margin in the Women’s J16. British Rowing’s report notes one J18 race where the two boats recorded the same time and umpires had to decide who hit the buzzer first.

Thank the volunteers or there is no event. The organisers named umpires Sarah Gregory and Paul Jackson and thanked the volunteers who ran timing, marshalling, safety and catering. Beach sprint racing needs a beach crew, and clubs of this size run on people giving up a Monday.

For more of what is on around the town and the coast, see our things to do in the New Forest page.

Sources