Rows erupting over a sultanate's athlete (9)
I believe the answer is:
oarswoman
'athlete' is the definition.
'rows erupting over a sultanate's' is the wordplay.
'erupting' is an anagram indicator.
'over' is an insertion indicator.
'sultanate' becomes 'oman' (I've seen this before).
'rows' is an anagram of 'orsw'.
'orsw' placed around 'a' is 'oarsw'.
'oarsw'+'oman'='OARSWOMAN'
(Other definitions for oarswoman that I've seen before include "River user" , "Girl having paddle" , "Rower" .)