GRP Row: Busse Wins Silver at World Rowing Beach Sprints.

GRP Row

Nov 10

Sera Busse won silver in the Mixed Double with partner Chris Bak at World Rowing Beach Sprints. The regatta took place November 6-9th in Manavgat, Turkey. Beach sprints began with experimental coastal events in 2011 and evolved through international competitions and advocacy. Their efforts transformed a spectator-friendly beach format into a global discipline, culminating in its selection as the only new event from an existing Olympic sport for LA28. The racing format starts with a beach run sprint to the boat, an approximate 250m slalom out and back, and finishes with a beach sprint to a buzzer. The crews compete in head to head racing with a knock out style bracket.

Busse was the first leg runner while Bak completed the sprint from the boat to the buzzer at the end of each race. The duo took down Spain in the quarterfinals and came from behind to defeat Portugal in the semifinal to advance to the A final. The U.S. crew faced the reigning champions from Lithuania in a tight race in the final. Busse and Bak had a strong start and were only inches from the Lithuania crew through the turn. Approaching the beach, the Lithuania crew had a couple strokes lead, but Bak closed the gap on the beach sprint. The crowd was unsure who won as both crews dove for the buzzer, but Lithuania came away with the gold winning by 0.24 seconds.