Filippi at the 2026 Head of the Charles: Victories, Olympic Champions, and a Story That Keeps Going
Boston, USA - Four souvenirs from an overseas trip that ends in the best possible way: victories, extraordinary performances, Olympic champions, and an increasingly important presence of Filippi at the Head of the Charles Regatta. For the second consecutive year, Filippi was a protagonist in Boston with its own area, stands, and technical support service dedicated to crews during the competition, alongside our US partner and dealer Elite Rowing, with a real presence on the ground, by the side of athletes, coaches, and clubs.
Being present at the Head of the Charles means experiencing the regatta up close and just the way we like it: meeting clients, listening to athletes, stepping in when needed, and sharing every moment of the competition with them. This is the philosophy that accompanies Filippi all over the world: not just building racing boats, but being there when those boats take to the water.
An intense weekend, made of great results but also stories capable of going beyond simple sporting achievement. Because on the Charles River, this year, not only did some of the world's best boats return: an important part of the history of Filippi and rowing returned as well.
A double victory for the U.S. in the Women’s Championship 8+
The most important result came on the final day of the regatta, in the Women’s Championship Eights, where the two USTC federal crews from Princeton and USTC Boston took first and second place respectively. A remarkable all-American double.
The victory went to the Princeton crew (Etta Carpender (stroke), Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson, Camille VanderMeer, Claire Collins, Jessica Thoennes, Charlotte Buck, Megan Lee, Dahlia Levine, Cristina Castagna (cox)), which stopped the clock at 14:44.037, while Boston finished second in 14:52.962. Both crews were rowing F42 Performance back wings.
The time recorded by Princeton, almost a carbon copy of the crew that won the bronze medal at the latest World Championships in Amsterdam, with Etta Carpender at stroke, is also the new Head of the Charles record for the elite women’s eights.
On the USTC Boston boat, which finished second, was Teal Cohen, reigning world champion in the women’s four (together with Kaitlin Knifton, Molly Bruggeman, and Azja Czajkowski) in Amsterdam 2026 and, among other things, a member of the Filippi Family.
For Filippi, seeing yet another member of its Filippi Family win on the international stage is, as always, a source of pride.
In the same race won by the Princeton crew, also rowing an F42 Performance back wing, the Cambridge crew coached by Patrick Ryan also deserves a mention for its 6th-place finish. At the end of their performance, the English girls secured a significant 6th place. The boat included: Jessica Martin (stroke), Isobel Campbell, Lydia Knevel, Heather Schmidt, Mia Freischem, Selena Jones, Maeve Heneghan, Alexa von der Schulenburg, Zoe Tekeian (cox).
Washington Rowing: yet another victory signed by Teal Cohen
The excitement had already begun the previous day with another great victory. In the Women’s Alumnae Eights, Washington Rowing claimed first place with a time of 15:45.620, finishing nearly 39 seconds ahead of Crabtree. The race featured no fewer than 48 registered crews, making the Washington Alumnae Eight’s performance even more impressive.
The victory fits perfectly into Washington’s recent history at the Head of the Charles: in recent years, the University has built a strong tradition in the Alumni Eights, winning the title in 2021, 2022, 2024, and once again in 2026 in the women’s category.
And there is a special connection here as well: Teal Cohen is a former University of Washington athlete, where she competed during her collegiate career before becoming a full-time member of the U.S. national team program.
The Legend of Tokyo returns to the Charles River
Five years ago in Tokyo, there was a much longer story to tell.
Five years ago, in Tokyo, they won an Olympic gold medal in the men's eight for New Zealand, for themselves, and for Filippi. A moment destined to remain forever in our history.
It was Friday, July 30, 2021, at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo.
That day, the New Zealand eight won Olympic gold at the end of a race that entered the history of Kiwi rowing.
Five years later, almost the entire crew chose to reunite right in Boston, on the other side of the world, to race together again in the Men's Championship Eight. The crew lined up in Boston included Matt MacDonald, Shaun Kirkham, Philip Wilson, Dan Williamson, Michael Brake, Ollie Maclean and Tom Mackintosh, with Sam Bosworth at the helm.
It was a true Olympic reunion: seven of the original members of the Tokyo eight were back on board once again.
A crew that wrote one of the most important chapters in the recent history of New Zealand rowing: in Tokyo, in 2021, the Kiwi boat won gold ahead of Germany and Great Britain. For Hamish Bond, it was even his third Olympic gold, following those won in the pair without a coxswain in 2012 and 2016.
The result was not what mattered most. What mattered was celebrating, five years later, that Olympic success achieved in the dramatic context of the Coronavirus pandemic and, precisely because of that, never fully enjoyed by the protagonists.
The American press had already highlighted New Zealand's presence among the great stories of the Championship Men's Eights, emphasizing how special it was that these champions had chosen to make the journey all the way to Boston to get back on the water together.
And then, above all, there was her.
The Filippi F49.
The Same Filippi F49 from Tokyo, “From Italy to Boston”
To make this reunion possible, the boat that had carried that extraordinary crew all the way to Olympic gold in Tokyo was brought from Italy to Boston especially for the occasion.
The project was made possible by Dan Williamson, who rowed in seat 4 of the New Zealand eight in Tokyo and is now a respected coach at Yale University, a New Haven, Connecticut.
The F49 thus crossed the ocean once again to reunite with its champions.
The same boat. The same people. A story that continues.
In Boston, in the same race as the champions, an eight from the U.S. Federal Team USTC Sarasota competed in the same model and took 6th place overall with the F49 Front Wing Performance. On board were many of the protagonists of Amsterdam 2026: Joshua Diggons (stroke), Nathan Phelps, Samuel Sullivan, Madison Molitor, Billy Bender, Wilson Morton, Charlie Fargo, Michael Herman, Rachel Rane (cox).
Four souvenirs from Boston
The victory of USRowing Princeton in the Women’s Championship 8+.
The second-place finish of USRowing Boston, for an extraordinary American one-two.
The fastest overall time of the 2026 Head of the Charles, set by the crew that won gold.
The victory of Washington in the Women’s Alumnae 8+.
The reunion of the Tokyo New Zealand eight, back on the Charles River aboard the same Filippi F49 that, five years earlier, had won Olympic gold.
All of this together with the awareness that, once again, we were there on the course, for the second consecutive year, with our stand, our area, and all the care of our Regatta Service.
Because some boats are not simply boats; they carry people, victories, memories, and stories with them. And when, five years after an Olympic gold, the same boat returns to the water with its crew, on the other side of the world, that story continues.
“Five years later, the boat, the people and the story come together again”.
Thank you, Boston.
See you next year.
