European Beach Sprint Gold for Local Rowers

Ánder Martín and Esther Briz honoured after winning individual titles in Cádiz

Two athletes from the Real Club Náutico Torrevieja have added another chapter to the club’s international story. Ánder Martín and Esther Briz were received by Mayor Eduardo Dolón and Sports Councillor Diana Box after both won gold at the European Beach Sprint Championships in La Línea de la Concepción on 17 September. Club president Carlos Carmona joined the reception.

Two very different paths to the same gold

Martín took the men’s individual title after beating rowers from Switzerland, Germany and Finland. The win improved on the silver he collected in Turkey in 2025. His record already includes five world golds and two world bronzes in coastal rowing, two European golds and one European silver, two Mediterranean Games titles and more than thirty medals at Spanish championships.

Briz won the women’s individual final against the Austrian who had been defending the title. She had already beaten a Portuguese rower in the quarter-finals and a British rower in the semi-finals. Her career includes two world titles in conventional rowing (junior and senior), four world titles in coastal rowing and beach sprint, European titles, sixteen Spanish championships and an Olympic diploma at Paris 2024. Earlier this year she also became the first Spanish woman to win the women’s Boat Race with Oxford.

A city that treats sport as part of its identity

At the reception, Dolón described the titles as a source of pride for Torrevieja and thanked both athletes for taking the name of the city and the Real Club Náutico to the top of international sport. He called them an example for young people who are just starting out. The mayor also recognised the club itself, extending the congratulations to Carmona and to the coaches, teammates and families behind every medal.

For a coastal town, that link between club and city is not decorative. Beach sprint is raced on sand, close to the water, and the training ground is literally the same shoreline residents and visitors use every day. When local rowers win in Europe, the achievement is easy to picture: early mornings on the beach, long sessions in the boat, and a club that has spent years building a pathway from juniors to the national team.

China next, Los Angeles on the horizon

The next test comes quickly. Both athletes travel to Qingdao for the Beach Sprint World Championships from 18 to 20 October. The event sits inside a longer plan. Beach sprint is due to make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028, so European gold is not only a trophy. It is also a marker on the road towards selection for a new Olympic discipline.

That horizon matters for the Costa Blanca as well as for the two rowers. International results help a club attract young athletes, keep coaches in place and give the town a sporting story that is not only about tourism numbers. For anyone who walks the seafront in Torrevieja, the reception at the Town Hall is a reminder that some of the people training on the sand are already among the best in Europe — and that their next race is on the other side of the world.