Amsterdam Injury Report: Kennedy-Leverett Withdraws, Salmons and McIntyre Complete Long-Awaited Returns

The water at Amsterdam’s Bosbaan is heavy this week, and so is the physical toll. While the wind and rain delays have grabbed the headlines at the 2026 World Rowing Championships, the real attrition is unfolding in the medical tents and the boathouses.

You don't get to the start line of a World Championship without redlining your body. For some, the chassis finally cracked during the taper phase. For others, this week marks the emotional summit of a multi-year physical rebuild.

The most significant late scratch hit the Australian camp. Cormac Kennedy-Leverett was forced to withdraw from the Men's Quadruple Sculls with a severe back injury just days before racing commenced.[1]

Next man up: Hamish Danks. Australian Rowing Team coach Ian Thompson praised Kennedy-Leverett's "impeccable" handling of the heartbreak, noting that the late change presented Danks with a sudden opportunity to step into the boat and press on.[1]

But injuries aren't always a hard stop; sometimes they are a brutal handicap athletes simply row through. Take Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard in the PR1 men’s single sculls.[3]

Pritchard arrived in Europe dealing with a freak accident: a hoist cable snapped at the airport, dropping him from his transfer chair. He’s been managing the resulting back injury and "bump" ever since.[3]

Despite the pain, Pritchard retained his European title in Varese earlier this month, admitting he doubted he could beat Italy's Giacomo Perini given the injury. Now, he is navigating the Bosbaan hoping the speed work he banked will carry him through his world-title defense.[3]

Then there is Ireland's Fiona Murtagh. The defending champion in the women's single sculls picked up a rib injury following the Lucerne World Cup, disrupting her final preparation block.[4]

Rib stress is the rower's curse—every catch sends shockwaves through the torso—but Murtagh gritted her teeth. She bypassed the European Championships for a tough preparation camp in Banyoles and still managed to win her quarter-final heat in Amsterdam.[4]

The Dutch camp has also seen its share of medical drama. Olympic champion Karolien Florijn battled a back injury prior to Lucerne, alongside burnout and a capsize in Seville, making her quarter-final exit against Britain's Lauren Henry less surprising to the rowing cognoscenti.[4]

Yet for every athlete sidelined or struggling, Amsterdam has delivered a long-awaited return. The USA’s Regina Salmons stepped back onto the podium this week, two years after a devastating surgery.[2]

Salmons and Mia Levy surged in the final 500 meters of the Women's Pair A-Final, overtaking the Czech Republic and closing on France to secure a brilliant bronze medal in 6:59.76.[2]

The physical toll of Salmons' journey makes the hardware heavier. "I couldn't lift my arms for six months post-surgery, so now, two years later, to be on the podium is just so special," Salmons said after the race.[2]

She credited the medical staff and her teammates for the rebuild. "I'm so grateful to Josy and Jesse and the whole team for believing in me, that I could get back to the podium. It really takes a village."[2]

Australia’s Annabelle McIntyre knows that grind intimately. The Tokyo gold and Paris bronze medalist is finally back in the Women’s Quadruple Scull after a grueling recovery from long-term injuries that derailed her post-Paris 2024 break.[1]

Rowing markets itself as a low-impact sport, but the sheer volume of repetitive load makes the lumbar spine and ribs highly vulnerable. World Rowing medical data indicates that up to 50 percent of elite rowers suffer a lower back injury in a 12-month period.[5]

The danger often peaks during the return-to-train phase or the final taper, when "spinal creep"—the dampening of protective reflex activity in the back tissues after long sessions—leaves the spine exposed to mechanical failure.[5]

As the finals weekend approaches in Amsterdam, the medals won't just reflect who pulled the hardest. They will reflect which nations managed the redline best, and which athletes refused to let their bodies dictate the end of their story.