Chris Bak won his sixth Beach Sprint world title on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. The United States mixed coxed quadruple sculls defended its crown in Qingdao, China, beating host China in the final. The crew was Malachi Anderson, Charlotte Wiley, Audrianna Boersen and Bak at stroke, with cox Coral Kasden.
From seventh in the time trial to the top of the podium
The road was not smooth: among 222 crews from 52 nations, the quad placed seventh in the opening time trial. It missed automatic qualification by one place, then answered in the repechage, beating Brazil by more than 37 seconds. In the quarterfinal the United States beat Great Britain by 1.5 seconds, the British finishing second after a last-ditch sprint up the beach.
Great Britain had led at the turning buoy, but the Americans stepped on round the turn and pushed into the lead. The crew then beat Australia before meeting China in the final. Against the host, the United States recovered from an untidy halfway turn and powered past China in the closing stages.
The win came on a packed finals day of 108 races and ten finals, squeezed into ten hours. Adverse weather had forced Wednesday's racing forward, after strong winds cancelled training and an earlier day of racing. Boats had capsized in the surf earlier in the week, while crowds cheered from the beach.
The most decorated name in a young sport
Bak is the most successful athlete in this young sport. He holds four coastal men's solo titles, but his solo defence this year ended in a quarterfinal loss to Australia's Samuel Forbes. A week earlier he had finished second to France's Alexis Fortier by less than a second in the solo 4,000 metres.
The quad arrived as reigning champion, having won the same class at the 2025 finals in Antalya, and Australia took bronze ahead of Germany. For Kasden the gold was a third in this boat class. "We poured everything into this," she told World Rowing, "we really all jived together so well."
The mixed quad sits outside the three events on the Olympic programme for Los Angeles 2028. The United States is among seven nations qualified for next year's World Rowing Beach Sprint Series. For Bak, named a favourite for 2028, the next chapter is in view.
