"VAN" (Sports Desk - 27.09.2025) :: Erik Horrie OAM PLY showed he is still one of Australia’s greatest rowers by winning Bronze in the Men’s PR1 Single Sculls at the 2025 World Rowing Championships.
In his 15th year on the Australian rowing team, Horrie, 45, is a triple Paralympic medallist and a five-times World Championships winner.
His medal win at the world titles in Shanghai on Friday was also the first for the Rowsellas in the regatta that ends on Sunday.
Australia had two boats in A-Finals on Friday that saw sweltering conditions with 30 degree-plus temperatures. Australia was also in the Men’s Four A-Final, where they placed fifth.
Horrie was deservedly proud for winning Bronze, a feat that also augurs well for the future with the 2028 Paralympic Games on the horizon.
“I would definitely have liked one of the [medals] further up, but third in this quality field is certainly an honour,” Horrie said. “Any medal representing Australia means a lot.”
Great Britain’s Paralympic champion Benjamin Pritchard (8:55.65) won the Gold medal after leading from the start off a quick start.
The Ukraine’s Roman Polyianski (9:02.74) placed second to claim the Silver, while Horrie (9:04.10) finished third for the Bronze.
Racing in Lane 4, Horrie, who had won his Heat to qualify for the A-Final, enjoyed a strong start.
Pritchard got an early jump, but Horrie settled into second place early. While he was passed by Polyianski in the second 500m, he still pushed the Ukranian to the finish.
On how the race unfolded for him with Polyasnki’s move, Horrie said: “I knew what I had to do. I just let it off that that little bit too much going through that second 500m and paid for it coming through the 1000 and didn’t quite have enough at the end.”
Meanwhile, in the Men’s Fours A-Final, the Australian crew of Nikolas Pender, Fergus Hamilton OLY, Austin Reihehr and Alexander Hill OAM finished in fifth place.
The race was won by Great Britain (5:48.48), from Romania (5:50.56) and the Netherlands ((5:52.01), followed by Lithuania (5:53.54).
Australia (5:58.60), racing in Lane 1, were slow out of the start and in fourth place after 1000m, but by 1500m they had dropped to fifth, beating France (6:01.10) in sixth.
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