Lauren Henry has continued to dominate the women’s single sculls since her switch following the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The British rower won Sunday’s 2026 World Rowing Championships final in Amsterdam, securing her first individual World Championship title. Already European champion in Varese earlier this year, she has further confirmed with this latest victory that, in the space of just two years, she has become the current benchmark in the discipline.
Lauren Henry claims gold in the single sculls
Lauren Henry’s decision to leave the quadruple sculls after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games could have been considered a risky move. The British rower had just become Olympic champion with her crew, winning a final by the narrowest of margins against the Netherlands. Rather than continuing in the boat that had taken her to the top of the sport, however, she chose to take on one of rowing’s most demanding individual events: the single sculls.
Henry already had some pedigree in the single sculls before making the switch permanent. In 2023, while she was still eligible for the under-23 category, she won the British trials in the discipline. The experience she had accumulated at the highest level in crew boats then allowed her to take another step forward, eventually establishing herself as a regular contender for major international titles.
In her very first international season in the single sculls, the British rower won the European Championships in Plovdiv in 2025. She set a new British record as well as the fastest European time ever recorded at the time, clocking 7:09.76. She subsequently won the two World Cup regattas she entered before arriving at the World Championships in Shanghai as a serious title contender.
She ultimately had to settle for silver in China, beaten by just three hundredths of a second by Fiona Murtagh in the closing metres. Henry had nevertheless immediately established herself among the leading rowers in the world. In 2026, her progression accelerated further. After successfully defending her European title in Varese, the British rower arrived at the World Championships in Amsterdam with a different status: that of the favourite.
The opening rounds quickly confirmed that impression. Henry won her heat in 7:54.69, more than five seconds clear of the second-fastest time across all of the heats. It was a significant margin at this level of competition and an early indication that she was heading into the week in outstanding form.
The quarter-finals then provided the first real test. Facing reigning World champion Fiona Murtagh in the same quarter-final, Henry once again dominated proceedings. She finished in 7:14.82, more than six seconds quicker than the Irish rower, who recorded the second-fastest time in the race. A year after losing the World title to Murtagh by just three hundredths of a second, the British sculler had this time opened up a gap of more than six seconds.
The semi-final confirmed that dominance. Henry posted the fastest time of her race in 7:14.58, while Paris Olympic champion Karolien Florijn finished in 7:23.96. Almost nine seconds separated the two rowers at the finish. Some of the other competitors had naturally been able to manage their effort once qualification was secure and ease off towards the end of the race, but Henry’s margin was still a clear indication of the level she was producing.
The final was inevitably different. With the title at stake, there was no reason for the leading contenders to conserve energy, and Florijn in particular made the stronger start, forcing Henry to produce her move through the middle section of the race. The British rower gradually regained control before making the decisive move over the final 500 metres.
Henry eventually crossed the line in 7:15.93, ahead of the two other leading contenders, Fiona Murtagh in 7:18.04 and Karolien Florijn in 7:18.84. Her 2.11-second advantage over the reigning World champion was less emphatic than the margins she had produced in the earlier rounds, but it was more than enough to secure the title.
Most importantly, the victory makes Lauren Henry the first British woman to win the World Championship women’s single sculls title. She adds the global crown to the European title she claimed only a few months ago and further underlines the extraordinary progress she has made since changing disciplines.
With the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games now two years away, the British rower already appears to have the tools to challenge for the title. If she continues along this trajectory, Henry could arrive in Los Angeles with both the status and the ambition to add an individual Olympic gold medal to the one she won in the quadruple sculls in Paris.
