Lauren Henry and Benjamin Pritchard win European rowing gold

Lauren Henry and Benjamin Pritchard won European titles on the final day of the championships in Varese on 2 August 2026. Henry defended the women’s single-sculls title, while Pritchard retained the PR1 men’s single-sculls crown.

Henry passed Lithuania’s Viktorija Senkutė during the third 500 metres and won by more than four seconds. Pritchard’s race against Italy’s Giacomo Perini involved changes of lead before the British athlete prevailed.

Racing was delayed by 90 minutes because of storms. Britain completed the championship with five gold medals and one silver, placing third in the medal table behind Romania and Germany.

The two single-sculls wins illustrate both Olympic-class and Para rowing within one continental championship. They were European results in Italy, separate from Pritchard’s later world-title defence in Amsterdam.