South African rowers of color become first to compete at Charles, part of larger trend toward access

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South African rowers of color become first to compete at Charles, part of larger trend toward access

[html]South African rowers, from left, Sheldon Krishnasamy, Lwazi-Tsebo Zwane, Lebone Mokheseng, and Sepitle Leshilo practice on the Charles River in preparation for the Head of the Charles Regatta, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

2025-10-19T12:05:49Z

                                       

BOSTON (AP) — Four South African rowers are making history over the weekend at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston as the first crew of color from the country to compete internationally.

Their participation marks a multinational effort to expand access to one of the most elite and exclusive sports, dominated by white athletes, and to open the 60-year-old regatta to a more diverse future of rowers.

   
       
   

Competitive rowing originates among Englishmen who colonized both South Africa and what is now the United States, but historically excluded large swaths of the populations that lived there from recreation on the water.

           
               
                   

   

       
   


       

       
     
   

   
   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   
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South African rowers, from left, Sheldon Krishnasamy, Lwazi-Tsebo Zwane, Lebone Mokheseng, and Sepitle Leshilo practice on the Charles River in preparation for the Head of the Charles Regatta, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

               
           
       
       
   

   
   
   


               
           
       

In recent years, a network of advocates has gathered athletes from around the world in efforts culminating with several firsts for representation at the Charles: the first all-Black women’s 8+ from the U.S., an indigenous 4+ and a native women’s 4+, among others. An 8+ is an eight-oared sweep boat with eight athletes and a coxswain to steer and direct the rowers, while a 4+ is a four-oared sweep boat with a coxswain.

Lwazi-Tsebo Zwane, a 23-year-old who trains in Germiston, South Africa, east of Johannesburg, said he and his boatmates are very aware they are role models for younger rowers.

   
       




   

“It takes a lot to be at this regatta,” said Zwane, who will compete in the Men’s Championship 4+ event. “There’s been a lot of pitfalls, there’s been a lot of barriers.”

   
   

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Wearing the colors of Western Cape Rowing, Zwane said the legacy of poverty and economic inequality that were the result of racist policies like apartheid in South Africa and others leveraged in the U.S. “have shaped and narrated our story to be one of violence and oppression and being second rate.”

“There is a different story for us, but doing the work to get there is not an easy feat,” he said of reframing the false narratives.

   
       
   

Lack of access, not lack of talent

Rowers who aren’t white or from affluent backgrounds in America and South Africa face many of the same issues, said Arshay Cooper, whose foundation worked to bring the South African crew to the Charles, as well as crews of underrepresented athletes from the U.S.

Among those issues: lack of access to waterways and to skills like swimming and the cost of buying and storing equipment. Rowing shells alone cost tens of thousands of dollars.

“There’s structural limitations, there’s neglect,” said Cooper, who joined America’s first all-Black high school rowing team in Chicago in 1997. “There’s talent everywhere, but not a lot of access and opportunity.”

In both countries, some public schools — where athletes of color are more likely to attend — offer access to some type of rowing program. But the equipment is older and the coaches more novice, making it hard to compete with private schools with more resources.

Modern competitive rowing emerged in the 19th century at British schools like Oxford and Cambridge and expanded to elite American colleges, like Harvard, Yale and Princeton — institutions that excluded those who were from working-class backgrounds and not white or male.

           
               
                   

   

       
   


       

       
     
   

   
   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   
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South African rowers practice on the Charles River in preparation for the Head of the Charles Regatta, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

               
           
       
       
   

   
   
   


               
           
       
         
           
               
               

   

       

       

       
     
   

   
   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

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