Oarsome Foursome heading to Amsterdam

Four members of the UNSW community will represent Australia on one of rowing’s biggest stages after being selected in the Rowsellas squad for the 2026 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam.

Current students Nikolas Pender, Jacqueline Swick and Lily Alton-Triggs will be joined by UNSW alumnus Marcus Della Marta in the 61-strong Australian team, which will contest 13 boat classes on Amsterdam’s Bosbaan international course from 24–30 August.

Della Marta has been selected in the Senior Men’s Quadruple Scull, Pender in the Senior Men’s Four, Swick in the Senior Women’s Four and Alton-Triggs in the Senior Women’s Eight.

The quartet’s selection continues a strong international season for UNSW rowing and places four members of the University community among Australia’s leading rowers as the national program continues its build towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Rowing Australia Performance Director Paul Thompson MBE described the squad as an exciting combination of emerging talent and experienced internationals, with the team’s sights firmly set on the road towards LA 2028.

“We have an emerging talented team with LA in their sights. There is a mix of youthful dynamic rowers and returning Olympians, and they have merged well for success over the World Cup season,” Thompson said.

For Della Marta, Amsterdam will mark another major milestone in a rowing journey that has taken him increasingly closer to the pinnacle of the sport.

The UNSW alumnus has been selected in the Men’s Quad after representing Australia throughout the 2026 international campaign.

Amsterdam will mark Della Marta’s Senior World Championships debut, making him one of seven athletes in the Rowsellas squad set to receive a numbered McVilly-Pearce Pin. The pins are presented to athletes following their first representation of Australia at senior elite level at a World Championships, Olympic, Paralympic or Commonwealth Games.

The selection follows an impressive period for Della Marta, who came agonisingly close to qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the Men’s Double Scull. Racing alongside David Bartholot at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, the Australian combination finished third, narrowly missing one of the available Olympic quota places.

Della Marta has continued to establish himself among Australia’s leading scullers since then, including success across both traditional and coastal rowing.

His performances while balancing elite rowing with his studies were recognised by UNSW in 2025 when he received a Vice-Chancellor’s Blue, the highest sporting honour awarded by the University.

Della Marta has also delivered for UNSW on the university stage. At the 2024 UniSport Nationals, he won the prestigious Men’s Single Scull Willis Trophy and helped UNSW secure silver in the Mixed Four.

His progression has continued in 2026, including victory in the Open Men’s Single Scull at the Australian Rowing Championships before earning his place in the Australian Men’s Quad for the international season.

Pender will return to the Senior World Championships after being selected in Australia’s Men’s Four.

The UNSW Elite Athlete Program member has developed an impressive international résumé over recent seasons, progressing from one of Australia’s leading Under 23 rowers into an established member of the senior national program.

Pender claimed consecutive silver medals in the Men’s Four at the 2023 and 2024 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, including helping Australia reach the podium in Canada in 2024.

His breakthrough at senior level followed in 2025.

Pender was part of Australia’s Men’s Four that claimed gold at both World Rowing Cup I and World Rowing Cup II before joining the Australian Men’s Eight for one of the highlights of the international rowing calendar — the Henley Royal Regatta.

The Eight reclaimed the prestigious Grand Challenge Cup, matching the course record in the final and securing Australia’s first victory in the event since 2018.

Pender then represented Australia in the Men’s Four at the 2025 World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, reaching the A Final and finishing fifth.

His achievements across both rowing and university life have also been recognised away from international competition.

Pender joined Della Marta as a recipient of a 2025 UNSW Vice-Chancellor’s Blue, although his sporting commitments prevented him from attending the presentation ceremony.

He added another significant accolade later that year, receiving the Win Well Vocational and Educational Award at the 2025 Hancock Prospecting Rower of the Year Awards in recognition of his achievements both on and off the water.

Now firmly established in Australia’s senior program, Amsterdam provides another opportunity for Pender to test himself against the world’s best.

The UNSW contingent also features two Paris Olympians in Jacqueline Swick and Lily Alton-Triggs.

Swick has been selected in the Australian Women’s Four following a strong international campaign for the crew.

The UNSW student represented Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and has remained a regular presence in the national program, including an impressive 2025 season in which she collected silver medals in the Women’s Four at World Rowing Cups I and II.

She also represented Australia in the Women’s Eight at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta before racing in the Women’s Four at the 2025 World Championships in Shanghai.

Her 2026 crew heads to Amsterdam with more international silverware behind it after finishing second at World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne.

Alton-Triggs will line up in the Australian Women’s Eight, continuing her own journey at the highest level of international rowing.

A member of Australia’s Women’s Eight at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Alton-Triggs has again earned her place in the boat for the 2026 World Championships.

Like Swick, she arrives in Amsterdam following a podium performance in Lucerne, with the Australian Women’s Eight claiming silver at World Rowing Cup III.

Rowing Australia has retained both women’s sweep crews from Lucerne for the World Championships, giving Swick and Alton-Triggs an opportunity to carry that form onto the sport’s biggest international stage of 2026.

The four UNSW representatives will form part of a Rowsellas team featuring 61 athletes across the Men’s, Women’s and Para rowing programs.

Australia will field 13 boats at the Championships, with Della Marta one of seven athletes making their Senior World Championships debut and Pender, Swick and Alton-Triggs bringing previous World Championship and Olympic experience to the squad.

For UNSW, having four members of its community selected in the one Australian World Championships team is another significant representation on the international stage and another chapter in the University’s proud rowing tradition.

The 2026 World Rowing Championships will be contested on the Bosbaan international course in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 24–30 August.