Malta Rowing Federation

Malta marked a significant milestone in its rowing history with a successful and highly encouraging participation at the 2025 European Coastal Rowing Championships, the continent’s premier coastal rowing event organised and sanctioned by World Rowing (FISA).

The Championships, held over an entire week, featured endurance races followed by the highly anticipated beach sprint time-trials and finals. This edition is widely regarded as one of the highest-level coastal rowing championships ever staged, reflecting the rapid growth of the discipline since beach sprints were confirmed as a new Olympic event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The competition attracted an exceptional field, including former Olympic rowers and World Champions from both classic and coastal rowing.

For Malta, the event represented a series of historic firsts. It was the first time Malta competed with Under-18 crews at a European Championship, the first time Maltese athletes raced across such a wide range of boat classes — singles, doubles, and quads — and the first time Malta fielded such a large and diverse contingent, taking part in both endurance and sprint formats.

Despite the increasingly competitive international landscape, Maltese crews delivered performances that compared very favourably with those of far more established rowing nations. In the endurance races, Maltese boats consistently posted times close to their European counterparts and, in several races, overtook crews from traditionally strong rowing countries such as Croatia, Germany, Great Britain and host nation Turkey. In the beach sprints, senior athlete Mark Schembri and Under-18 rower Maximillian Spiteri Fiteni recorded times just seconds behind nations such as Finland, underlining Malta’s growing competitiveness at European level.

Beyond results, Malta’s participation carried broader strategic importance. The Championships marked another step in Malta’s integration into the World Rowing community, strengthening relationships with European federations and benefitting from direct support and guidance from the World Rowing Development Team, who worked closely with the Maltese squad throughout the event.

All Maltese athletes, who also fulfilled key logistical roles as boat handlers, competed with determination, discipline and professionalism, completing their races safely and without injury — a testament to their preparation and commitment.

Considering Malta’s early stage of development in Olympic-style rowing, with the National Federation operating independently only since 1 July 2025, these performances represent a strong foundation for the future. Our participation in these Championships stand as a landmark moment, demonstrating Malta’s potential in a rapidly growing Olympic discipline and setting a clear pathway for continued progress on the international stage.

 Malta’s participation at these Championships was made possible through the financial support by SportMalta through the SportMalta International Participation Scheme 2025.