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Henley Royal Regatta, the world’s premier rowing event, has re-broken its record for number of entries.
“This year’s entry has topped the charts,” said Richard Phelps, committee chair of Henley Royal Regatta. “Nine reigning Olympic champions will be competing in 2026, forming part of an incredibly strong field of domestic and international athletes across events.”
The regatta, held in Henley-on-Thames, U.K., will run from Tuesday, June 30, through Sunday, July 5.
Reigning IRA national champion Washington has sent two men’s eights, comprised of a mix of the first and second varsity eights in the Ladies’ Plate, and a mix of the second and third eights in the Temple Challenge Cup. Yale’s women will race in the Bridge Challenge Plate in the event’s second year.
Both of winning eights from the recent USRowing Youth National Championships return to Henley in 2026: Deerfield Academy’s boys for The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, and RowAmerica Rye‘s youth women’s eight for The Prince Philip Challenge Cup.
The complete list of entries is impressive.
For events in which there are more entries than spaces, qualifying time-trial races are held on the evening of Friday, June 26. Due to weather, some qualifying races are now scheduled to run Saturday morning.
The 2026 Draw was scheduled to take place at noon (7am EDT) on Saturday, June 27 in the boat tent area in Henley-on-Thames, but will be delayed also.
