U.S. Wins 6 Heats on Day 1 of 2026 U23 World Championships

The U.S. Under 23 National Team opened the 2026 World Rowing Under 23 Championships with a strong day of racing, winning six heats and sending multiple crews into the next round of races. The Americans advanced boats into the semifinals and finals across a range of events, highlighted by strong performances in the women's pair, men's four, women's four, women's quadruple sculls, and both the men's and women's eights.

Women’s Pair

Northeastern University's Gracelyn Theobald and Stanford University’s Carly Brown got out to an early lead in the women’s pair. They pushed their bow out early and continued to build their advantage, putting more than five seconds between themselves and the rest of the field. Romania mounted a late sprint and closed on the Americans, who held them off to take the win in a time of 7:55.25. They advance to the semifinal tomorrow.

Men’s Four

The men’s four opened their world championships by leading their heat from start to finish. Tobias Finn, Jordan Dykema, Kian Aminian, and Timothy Parsons established an early advantage and built it to more than five seconds over Germany midway through the race. Romania made a strong sprint to narrow the gap, but the Americans crossed the line in a time of 6:29.83, more than two seconds ahead of second place. They advance to the semifinal tomorrow.

Women’s Four

The U.S. women’s four took control of its heat early, opening a 2.5-second lead in the first 500 meters. Ella Wheeler, Annika Jeffrey, Phoebe Wise, and Claire Van Praagh continued to extend their margin through the middle of the race, building a lead of more than five seconds. South Africa closed some of the gap in the sprint, but the Americans crossed the line first in a time of 7:09.58 to secure a spot in the semifinal tomorrow.

Women’s Quadruple Sculls

Sumner Kerr, Kathryn Serra, Madison Kieft, and Lila Henn won their heat in 6:57.90. The Americans took the lead early and had open water on the field by the halfway mark. Italy was unable to close on the crew, and the U.S. finished 4.16 seconds ahead to earn a place in Saturday's A Final. The performance marked one of the strongest opening races by a U.S. women's quadruple scull at this event.

Men’s Eight

The U.S. men's eight was challenged throughout the race by Australia. Australia held a slight advantage in the opening 500 meters before the Americans moved into the lead before the halfway mark. Only a few seats separated the two crews over the remainder of the race, but the U.S. answered every move from Australia and crossed the line first in 5:59.28, just over one second ahead. The crew advances to the A Final on Sunday.

Women’s Eight

The U.S. women’s eight won their opening race for lanes, finishing ahead of Great Britain. The crew established an early lead and continued to build its margin through the third 500 meters, extending it to 3.53 seconds over second place. The Americans crossed the finish line first in 6:31.06, followed by Great Britain in 6:34.66. They will race in the Final on Sunday.

Women’s Single Sculls

University of Washington’s Cillian Mullen battled Australia for third place in the women's single sculls heat. He started in fourth before making a decisive move in the third 500 meters to edge into third. Continuing to build momentum in the sprint, Mullen crossed the line in 8:23.66 to advance to Saturday's semifinal.

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls

Simeon John from Community Rowing finished third in the lightweight men’s single sculls heat. John worked his way into first by the halfway mark before Tunisia and Greece moved ahead during the third 500 meters. The future Dartmouth lightweight held off the rest of the field to finish third in 7:42.33 and advance to Saturday's semifinal.

Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls

Boston University’s Ela Ersan finished third in her lightweight women’s single sculls heat. After sitting fourth early, she moved past Norway in the second 500 meters and held third for the remainder of the race, crossing the line in 8:28.48. Her time advances her to the A Final.

Men’s Pair 

Francis McGrath and Jack Kastner of Dartmouth College traded positions with New Zealand throughout the men's pair heat. The second thousand meters proved decisive as the Americans fought back to overtake New Zealand in the closing stages while also gaining on Serbia. They ran out of water before catching the Serbian crew, finishing in 7:19.43 to advance to tomorrow's semifinal.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls

Yale University's Fielding Staelin and Ryan Natterson settled into fourth over the opening 500 meters before moving into second at the halfway mark. France surged into second during the third 500 meters, leaving the Americans to finish third in 7:01.89. Their time qualified them for Sunday's A Final.

Men’s Single Sculls

Levi Munster of Middlebury College finished fourth in his opening men's single sculls race. He traded third and fourth place with Uzbekistan for much of the race before a late sprint from China pushed him into fourth. Munster crossed the line in 7:39.76 and will race in Saturday's C Final.

Women’s Double Sculls

Princeton University’s Cate Sauer and University of Texas’s Savanna Jerome finished fifth in their women's double sculls heat in 7:49.40. The U.S. remained in fifth throughout the race and was unable to close on Brazil. They will race in tomorrow's C Final.

Men’s Double Sculls

Tony Madigan and Boston University’s Daniel Malecki finished fourth in the men's double sculls heat. The Americans moved into second during the opening thousand meters before Belgium passed them in the third 500 meters. A late sprint from Latvia dropped the U.S. to fourth, where they finished in 6:54.64. They will race in tomorrow's D Final.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls

George Dolce, Cyrus Rosenberg, Michael Ruschmann, and Thomas Segrera finished fifth in their men's quadruple sculls heat in 6:25.19. The crew remained in fifth for most of the race and was unable to close on the Netherlands in fourth. They will race in tomorrow's C Final.

The U.S. returns to the course tomorrow with semifinals and finals on the line as crews look to build on a successful opening day in Duisburg. Fans can follow the results and schedule here. Livestream coverage will be available on YouTube and Overnght.