Chasing One More Stroke: Michelle Sechser’s 2025 World Championship Triumph

On Dianshan Lake in Shanghai, the 2025 World Rowing Championships brought together the world’s elite, and among them, Michelle Sechser made history. Competing in the Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls, Sechser captured gold, standing atop the podium as the U.S. flag was raised and the national anthem played, a moment she described as “cheesy, but it really meant a lot.”

Sechser is perhaps best known in recent years as a stalwart of the lightweight women’s double sculls for the United States. She medaled at World Championships in that event (silver in 2022 and 2023) and represented the U.S. in the lightweight double at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.

But 2025 marked a bold pivot. After Paris, Sechser attempted to make the open weight team, aware that doubles were no longer an Olympic event. “I came up a little bit short, and it was a pretty easy and almost exciting pivot into the lightweight single after that, and it didn’t even feel like any sort of downgrade. I was really excited… I love this boat class. It's so nice to kind of, for better or worse, you know, your whole crew is you,” she reflected.

For Sechser, it was a return to a boat class she loves and one that has always held a special place on her bucket list. “It’s been a dream that I could be on the top step at a world championship… to be in the single and sing the national anthem as they raised the U.S. flag. It felt really special.”

Sechser arrived in Shanghai prepared and confident. In her heat, she surged ahead early, opening a nearly four-second lead by midrace, holding off China’s Dandan Pan to win in 7:33.64, the fastest time of all heats. She continued her dominance in the semifinal, finishing in 8:01.20 to secure a top lane in the A Final.

Reflecting on her final race, she emphasized the blend of excitement and focus: “I keep asking a lot of my body, and it keeps delivering… It’s so exciting to be here, to see that the lightweight single is still alive and well. The speeds are good. Without a tailwind, to still be nearly inside 7:30 is great. For me, just getting to do what I love and race the best in the world and have teammates pushing me… it’s a really great time.”

At 13 years on the national team, Sechser is the longest-serving member of the U.S. squad this year. She described her 2025 campaign as “really just a sense of adventure. I’ve never had a clean lead-up in the lightweight single for a world championship… to feel like I’m still part of that open weight sculling team, to get to fill in briefly for some of the other boat classes, has been a great journey.”

Her years of racing in both doubles and singles informed her approach. “The one that felt most similar to this one was actually the 2017 World Championship in Sarasota. I raced the lightweight double with Emily Schmeek, and we had one of the fastest times going into the final… it can almost be more nerve-wracking being in position to win, than being the underdog.”

Sechser also reflected on the mental adjustment required for single sculls: “It’s so different being in the single—not having Molly or Mary Jones in my bow to distract your mind, or a dialed-in race plan with our team language. Every race is its own experience… every year, I’m a different person.”

Even after achieving one of her lifelong goals, Sechser’s ambitions continue. “I really would like to try and make the open weight team… almost out of curiosity, like, can I keep asking more of my body, and can it deliver? Can I get a little bit quicker, a little bit stronger to be a valuable team member on the U.S. rowing sculling team?”

Her 2025 lightweight single world title is a testament to perseverance, adaptability, and the thrill of racing the best in the world, an achievement that solidifies Sechser’s legacy and leaves fans excited to see what the next chapter will bring.