Valent Sinković Wins Major Role on World Rowing’s Athletes’ Commission

Valent Sinković has secured a new position in international rowing, winning election to World Rowing’s Athletes’ Commission for flat-water rowing.

He was chosen from 19 candidates during the 2026 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam. Athletes began voting on August 27 and completed the process on August 29. Elections for the commission take place every four years, midway through the Olympic cycle.

The 10-member commission represents athletes across the sport. It must include at least one para-rowing representative and one representative for coastal rowing. A separate election for the coastal rowing representative will take place in October at the 2026 World Coastal Rowing Championships and Beach Sprint Finals in Qingdao, China.

The commission serves as a link between athletes from national teams and World Rowing. Its work includes projects aimed at supporting and protecting athletes on and off the water, passing information from the governing body to the rowing community, and gathering athletes’ views on rules, regulations and competitions.

Athletes elect half of the commission’s members. The World Rowing Council recommends the other half through the Athletes’ Commission Elections and Nominations Committee, which oversees the election process. Sinković’s election gives Croatia a representative with multiple Olympic, world and European titles in the sport’s international governing organization.