USRowing Announces 2026 World Championships Roster

USRowing is pleased to announce the roster that will represent the United States at the upcoming 2026 World Rowing Championships on August 24-30 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 

The U.S. will field 19 crews across the seven-day regatta, competing in the men's and women's single sculls, lightweight single sculls, pairs, double sculls, quadruple sculls, fours, and eights, as well as the lightweight men's double sculls, PR2 mixed double sculls, PR3 mixed four with coxswain, mixed double sculls, and mixed eight.

The U.S. enters the championships with strong momentum after a standout World Cup campaign that saw the team capture 23 medals and claim the Overall World Cup Points Trophy for the first time in program history. Several crews return intact after podium performances at World Cup III, including the women's four, women's pair, and men's single sculls.

At the 2025 World Rowing Championships, the United States earned four medals, highlighted by world titles in the women's four and lightweight women's single sculls, along with bronze medals in the women's pair and men's eight.

This year's roster features a blend of veteran international experience and rising talent. Several Olympians and Paralympians return to the World Championships for the first time since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including Claire Collins, Peter Chatain, Ben Davison, Emilly Kalfelz, and Kristi Wagner. Paralympic silver medalists Skylar Dahl and Alex Flynn headline the PR3 mixed four with coxswain, while both the men's and women's fours are composed entirely of athletes who were members of the 2024 Olympic team. The roster also features several athletes making their senior national team debuts, including U23 world champions Sam Sullivan, Wilson Morton, and Dahlia Levine.

Men’s Single Sculls

Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University)

Women’s Single Sculls

Lauren O’Connor (Madison, Wis./University of Wisconsin)

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls

Justin Schmidt (Westport, Conn./University of Delaware)

Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls

Claire Friedlander (Narberth, Pa./University of Wisconsin)

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls

Jamie Copus (Winnetka, Ill./Oxford Brookes University)

Sean Richardson (Beverly, Mass./University of Massachusetts)

Men’s Pair

Samuel Halbert (Redmond, Wash./University of Washington)

Blake Vogel (Mars, Pa./ University of Washington)

Women’s Pair 

Mia Levy (Des Moines, Iowa/Yale University)

Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania)

Men’s Double Sculls

Willem Drescher (Gainesville, Va./Virginia Commonwealth University)

James Fetter (Palo Alto, Calif./Stanford University)

PR2 Mix2x

Chance Quarry (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./University of California, Berkeley)

Natalie Vorel (Oklahoma City, Ok.)

Mixed Double Sculls

Cedar Cunningham (Renton, Wash./Washington State University)

Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wash./University of Wisconsin)

Men’s Four

Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington)

Peter Chatain (Winnetka, Ill./Stanford University)

Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University)

Gus Rodriguez (Rye, N.Y./Brown University)

Women’s Four 

Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame)

Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/University of Washington)

Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif./Stanford University)

Kate Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas)

PR3 Mixed Four with Coxswain

Max Allemeier (Marietta, Ga./Oregon State University)

Gabriella Bigler (San Diego, Calif./San Diego Rowing Club)

Hannah Diaz (Seattle, Wash./Princeton University)

Skylar Dahl (Minneapolis, Minn./University of Virginia)

Alex Flynn (Wilmington, Mass./Tufts University)

Men’s Quadruple Sculls

Cedar Cunningham (Renton, Wash./Washington State University)

Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington)

Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University)

James Wright (Philadelphia, Pa./Stanford University)

Women’s Quadruple Sculls

Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University)

Evan Park (Bend, Ore./Oregon State University)

Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wash./University of Wisconsin)

Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University)

Men’s Eight

Billy Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College)

Charles Fargo (Winnetka, Ill./Brown University)

Josh Diggons (Ocean City, N.J./Drexel University)

Mike Herman (Washington, D.C./University of San Diego)

Madison Molitor (Moses Lake, Wash./University of Washington)

Wilson Morton (Summit, N.J./University of California)

Nate Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn./Princeton University)

Rachel Rane (Glencoe, Ill./University of Texas)

Sam Sullivan (Boston, Mass./University of Pennsylvania)

Women’s Eight

Charlotte Buck- (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University) 

Etta Carpender (Denver, Colo./University of Texas)

Nina Castagna (Cincinnati, Ohio/University of Washington)

Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University)

Megan Lee (Natick, Mass./Duke University)

Dahlia Levine (Ardmore, Pa./Brown University)

Jess Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington)

Camille VanderMeer (Elmire, N.Y./Princeton University)

Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson (Corvallis, Ore./United States Naval Academy)

Alternates

Leo Bessler (Tacoma, Wash./Harvard University)

Holly Drapp (Tampa, Fla./University of Washington)

Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University)

Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./ Yale University)

Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University)

Jesse Ryno (Alpine, N.J./Georgetown University)

Coaches 

Fiona Bourke

Eric Catalano

Sergio Espinoza

Jesse Foglia

Casey Galvanek

Dave Lefebvre

Jasper Liu

Michael Martinov

Caitlin McClain

Ellen Minzner

Beth Noll

Tom Siddall

Josy Verdonkschot

Staff

Will Daly

Kaity Jackson

Geoff Keller

Deirdre McLoughlin

Ellen Parmley

Matthew Provencher, MD

Peter Wenger, MD

Wendy Wilbur