2023 World Rowing Championships: U.S. Boat-by-Boat Preview

The U.S. will have 22 boats competing at the 2023 World Rowing Championships September 3-10 in Belgrade, Serbia. In addition to world championships being on the line in 29 boat classes, the championships are the first opportunity for countries to qualify boats for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The U.S. will have boats racing in the men's and women's single sculls, lightweight single sculls, double sculls, lightweight double sculls, quadruple sculls, pair, four, and eight, as well as the lightweight women's pair, lightweight men's quadruple sculls, PR1 men's single sculls, PR2 mixed double sculls, PR3 mixed double sculls, and PR3 mixed four with coxswain.

Last year, the U.S. won three medals at the world championships including silver in the lightweight women's double sculls, silver in the lightweight women's pair, and bronze in the women's pair.

Of the 74 athletes on this year's roster, 48 were on the 2022 World Rowing Championships' squad. The roster is made up of athletes from 22 states. Massachusetts leads the way with 11 athletes, followed by New York with nine.

In total, nearly 1,000 athletes from 74 delegations are scheduled to compete. Italy has entered the most boats with 24, followed by Germany with 23.

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Centers.

Women's Single Sculls

In the women's single sculls, 10-time national team member Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) returns to the event. Kohler, the 2019 World Rowing Championships' bronze medalist, finished 13th at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. She was back on the medal stand earlier this summer, winning a bronze medal at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II. Kohler will take on 31 other scullers in Belgrade including reigning world champion Karolien Florijn from The Netherlands, who won World Rowing Cup III earlier in the summer, and New Zealand's Emma Twigg, the reigning Olympic champion, who finished second behind Florijn at last year's world championships. The field also includes Australia's Tara Rigney, who finished third at last year's world championships and finished second at both the second and third 2023 World Rowing Cup races, and Germany's Alexandra Foester, who won the 2023 World Rowing Cup II.

Men's Single Sculls

In the men's single sculls, Eliot Putnam (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University/New York Athletic Club) is part of a 48-sculler field. Putnam, who raced in the quadruple sculls at the 2021 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, will be racing at his first senior world championships. The field includes Germany's Oliver Zeidler, the reigning world champion who swept the world cup races this year, as well as reigning Olympic champion, Stefanos Ntouskos from Greece.

Lightweight Women's Single Sculls

Sophia Luwis (McLean, Va./The College of William & Mary/Whitemarsh Boat Club) won a gold medal World Rowing Cup III and a silver medal at World Rowing Cup II earlier this year. Luwis, who missed last year's world championships due to injury, will be making her worlds' debut in 2023. The 23-boat field includes France's Aurelie Morizot, who won World Rowing Cup II ahead of Luwis, and Ireland's Siobhan McCrohan, who finished second behind Luwis at World Rowing Cup III. The Netherland's Martine Veldhuis, who finished second at last year's world championships, also is scheduled to compete.

Lightweight Men's Single Sculls

Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University/New York Athletic Club) will be racing at his first senior world championships, having won gold in the lightweight single at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Melvin is one of 28 men entered in the event. Slovenia's Rajko Hrvat won bronze at last year's world championships and won the first World Rowing Cup this season. Switzerland's Andri Struzina reached the medal stand at all three world cups earlier this summer, including a victory at World Rowing Cup III. Italy's Niels Torre won the other world cup race. All three are scheduled to race in Belgrade.

PR1 Men's Single Sculls

Andrew Mangan (Buffalo, N.Y./Stanford University/West Side Rowing Club) will be racing at his second world championships in Belgrade, having finished 10th in the event in 2022. Mangan will take on 22 scullers including last year's top three finishers in Ukraine's Roman Polianskyi, the reigning Paralympic champion, Italy's Giacomo Perini, and Great Britain's Benjamin Pritchard.

Women's Double Sculls

Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center) and Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION) joined forces in July of last year and went on to finish fifth at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. The duo reached the medal stand at their lone world cup race earlier this summer, finishing less than 0.1 seconds behind China's Shiyu Lu and Shuangmei Shen to take silver at World Rowing Cup II. Twenty crews are entered in the field. Romania's Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis, the reigning Olympic champions, won gold at last year's world championships and at the 2023 World Rowing Cup III. Lu and Shen were third at World Rowing Cup III, with the Lithuania crew of Donata Karaliene and Dovile Rimkute taking silver between Romania and China.

Men's Double Sculls

Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) and Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) came together after the 2023 Winter Speed Order this past March, having raced in separate boats in 2022. Davison, a 14-time national team member across the under 19, under 23, and senior levels, finished eighth in the single sculls at last year's world championships, while Koszyk, a two-time team member, finished seventh in the double. The duo won silver at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II, their first international race together. The U.S. is one of 30 countries entered in the event. The Netherlands' Melvin Twellaar and Stefan Broenink won gold at the third world cup earlier this summer, while Italy's Luca Rambaldi and Matteo Sartori won gold at the second world cup. Croatia's Martin and Valent Sinkovic, who won gold in the event at the Rio 2016 Olympics, won the first world cup. France's Hugo Boucheron, reigning Olympic and world champion in the event, is racing with a new partner this year, Valentin Onfroy.

Lightweight Women's Double Sculls

Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Cambridge Boat Club) and Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee/Cambridge Boat Club) will be looking to get the U.S. back on the medal stand this year. Sechser, an 11-time national team member, won a silver medal in the event last year with partner Molly Reckford, while Jones Nabel, a seven-time team member, raced in the lightweight single sculls. Sechser and Jones Nabel joined forces this season during the selection camp after World Rowing Cup II. Twenty-one crews are entered in the event including Great Britain's Imogen Grant and Emily Craig, the defending world champions. Grant and Craig won the second and third world cups earlier in the year, beating Sechser and Reckford by 0.08 seconds at World Rowing Cup II. France's Claire Bove and Laura Tarantola, last year's bronze medalists in the event, also are scheduled to race.

Lightweight Men's Double Sculls

The lightweight men's double sculls duo of Jimmy McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Delaware/Texas Rowing Center) and Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center) will be making its international debut in Belgrade. Heese raced the event at last year's world championships with Jasper Liu, while McCullough raced in the lightweight single sculls. The duo came together following World Rowing Cup II. Ireland's Fintan McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan, the reigning world and Olympic champions, are back. Italy's Stefano Oppo, who won silver at last year's world championships, is back with new partner Gabriel Soares. Ukraine's bronze medal crew from last year also returns. Switzerland's Jan Schaeuble and Raphael Ahumada Ireland picked up two gold medals on this year's world cup circuit, while France's Hugo Beurey and Ferdinand Ludwig won the third world cup race. Twenty-seven boats are scheduled to race in Belgrade.

PR2 Mixed Double Sculls

After racing in the PR2 men's single sculls last year, Russell Gernaat (Redwood City, Calif./Lake Casitas Rowing Club) is back in the PR2 mixed double with a new partner, Madison Eberhard (Buffalo, N.Y./ West Side Rowing Club). The duo finished third in the event at the 17th Gavirate International Para Rowing Regatta in June. Gernaat is a five-time national team member, while Eberhard is racing at her second world championships. Ukraine's Svitlana Bohuslavska and Iaroslav Koiuda are the reigning world champions, while Great Britain's Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson won the 2023 World Rowing Cup II. Rowles also won the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics with Laurence Whiteley, who has since retired from racing. Thirteen boats are scheduled to race in Belgrade.

PR3 Mixed Double Sculls

Todd Vogt (Rochester, N.Y. /Portland Boat Club) returns to the PR3 mixed double sculls with new partner Gemma Wollenschlaeger (St. Augustine Beach, Fla./Temple University), who is making her national team debut. Vogt is a three-time team member. The duo dominated the competition at the 2023 Para Rowing Regatta to Paris in July. France's Elur Alberdi and Laurent Cadot won the gold medal at last year's world championship, while Australia's Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager won World Rowing Cup II earlier this summer. The field has 14 boats entered.

Women's Quadruple Sculls

The crew of Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club), Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill./University of Wisconsin/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/Sarasota Crew), and Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION) is part of a 13-boat field. Kallfelz and Joyce were part of the quad last year, while Reckford won a silver medal in the lightweight women's double sculls. O'Connor is making her world championships' debut. China won gold at both the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. The Netherlands and Great Britain took the other two medals at last year's world championships. On this year's world cup circuit, China won gold at the second world cup, with The Netherlands winning at the third. Great Britain finished second at both regattas. Ukraine won the first world cup, as well as the 2023 European Rowing Championships.

Men's Quadruple Sculls

The men's quadruple sculls crew of Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania/Vesper Boat Club), Will Legenzowski (Vista, N.Y./Brown University/California Rowing Club), Liam Galloway (Ridgefield, Conn./Yale University), and Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville/Texas Rowing Center High Performance) is part of a 17-boat field in Belgrade. Williams and Cardno were members of the quad last year, while Legenzowski and Galloway move up to the senior team for the first time having raced internationally at the under 23 level. Poland won gold at last year's world championships, with Great Britain and Italy filling out the medal stand. Poland won this year's European championships, as well as World Rowing Cup II. The Dutch crew won World Rowing Cup III.

Lightweight Men's Quadruple Sculls

The crew of Jamie Copus (Oxford, England/Oxford Brookes University/Penn AC), Casey Howshall (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Pennsylvania/Riverside Boat Club), Ian Richardson (Amesbury, Mass./University of Connecticut/Riverside Boat Club), and Bernard Aparicio (Corona, Calif./San Diego State University/San Diego Rowing Club) will be making its Team USA debut. Copus is a multiple-time British national team member who is competing for the U.S. for the first time. Richardson was part of the boat last year, while Howshall and Aparicio are competing on their first senior national team. The three-boat field also includes Italy and Germany. Italy won gold last year.

Women's Pair

At last year's world championships, the U.S. won the bronze medal. While this year's lineup is new, it includes a wealth of experience in Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College/California Rowing Club) and Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University/California Rowing Club). Musnicki is a 10-time national team member, three-time Olympian, and two-time Olympic gold medalist, while Rusher was part of the Tokyo 2020 squad. The duo won a silver medal in its lone world cup appearance earlier this season. New Zealand won the gold medal last year, with The Netherlands taking silver. The Dutch boat of Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester is back this year, while New Zealand is rowing an entirely new lineup. Australia's Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre won the second and third world cups earlier in the season, while Romania's Ioana Vrinceanu and Roxana Anghel defeated Clevering and Meester to win the 2023 European Rowing Championships. Twenty-two crews are scheduled to race in the event.

Men's Pair

Senior national team rookies Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash./University of Washington/Seattle Scullers/Penn AC) and William Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College) are part of a 28-boat field. Romania's Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan won the world title last year. Cozmiuc also was part of the Romanian pair that won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The duo won silver at World Rowing Cup III behind Great Britain's Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Tom George. The British duo also won the second world cup and finished third at last year's world championships. Spain's Jaime Canalejo Pazos and Javier Garcia Ordonez won the silver medal last year and were third at this year's European championships. Switzerland's Roman Roeoesli with Andrin Gulich medaled at all three world cups this year and won the European title.

Lightweight Women's Pair

The U.S. crew of Elaine Tierney (West Chester, Pa./Temple University/Penn AC) and Solveig Imsdahl (Eutin, Germany/Cornell University/Penn AC) won the silver medal in the event last year. Part of a three-boat field, Tierney and Imsdahl will take on crews from Italy and Germany. Italy won the gold medal last year but will be boating a new lineup in 2023.

Women's Four

Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), and Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame/USRowing Training Center-Princeton) will take on 15 other crews in the women's four. Collins and Wanamaker doubled up last year, racing in both the pair and the eight at the world championships. The duo won bronze in the pair. Reelick and Bruggeman also were part of the eight in 2022. The U.S. won gold in the four with the same lineup at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II ahead of Great Britain and Australia. Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Australia won the medals at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. Romania won this year's final world cup race in Lucerne, Switzerland, as well as the 2023 European Rowing Championships.

Men's Four

The men's four of Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club), Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club) and Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) are one of 17 boats entered in the event. Mead was part of the four last year, while Corrigan was part of the eight. Grady and Best rowed together in the pair. The U.S. finished third in the event behind Great Britain and Australia at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II. Corrigan Mead, and Grady were part of that boat. Great Britain is the defending world champion, with Australia and The Netherlands also reaching the medal stand. The Brits and Aussies also finished one-two at the third world cup race.

PR3 Mixed Four with Coxswain

The PR3 four with coxswain of Emelie Eldracher (Andover, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Ben Washburne (Madison, Conn./Williams College), Saige Harper (Easthampton, Mass./Sacred Heart University), Skylar Dahl (Minneapolis, Minn./University of Virginia), and Alex Flynn (Wilmington, Mass./Tufts University) includes three returnees and two newcomers. Eldracher, Harper, and Flynn were part of last year's boat, while Dahl and Washburne are first-time national team members. The crew won gold at the 2023 Para Rowing Regatta to Paris, its first international race. Great Britain has a 13-year winning streak that includes three straight Paralympic golds and the 2022 World Rowing Championships. Germany and France took the other two medals last year, with the U.S. finishing fifth.

Women's Eight

The crew of Cristina Castagna (Cincinnati, Ohio/University of Washington), Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Mary Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Brooke Mooney (Keene Valley, N.Y./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Yale University), and Emily Froehlich (Fishers, Ind./University of Texas/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) includes four members of last year's fourth-place crew in Buck, Salmons, Hagstrom, and Thoeness. Mooney, who was coming off an injury, was an alternate on last year's squad but raced in the eight in Tokyo. Castagna, Mazzio-Manson, Hedeman, and Froehlich are all first-time senior team members. Romania, The Netherlands, and Canada won the medals at last year's world championships. Great Britain and Australia won the two world cups, while Romania won the European championships. Eight crews are entered in the event.

Men's Eight

One of 10 crews entered, the U.S. men's eight includes Jimmy Catalano (Greenwich Conn./University of Wisconsin), Henry Hollingsworth (Dover, Mass./Brown University/California Rowing Club), Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Alexander Hedge (Morristown, N.J./Columbia University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Clark Dean (Sarasota, Fla./Harvard University), Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College/California Rowing Club), Peter Chatain (Winnetka, Ill./Stanford University), and Ezra Carlson (Eureka, Calif./University of Washington/Craftsbury Green Racing Project). Chris Carlson, Catalano, and Quinton were part of last year's eight that finished fourth at worlds, while Hollingsworth was in the men's four. Ezra Carlson and Bub were alternates on the 2022 team, while Dean was part of the four at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Chatain and Hedge are first-time senior team members. Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Australia won the medals last year. Great Britain and Australia each won one of the world cup races, with the British crew taking home gold from the European championships.