Five U.S. Boats Set to Race on Opening Day of Rowing at 2024 Olympic Games

The U.S. will have five boats in action on Saturday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium as rowing gets underway at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Men’s single sculler Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) will be making his Olympic debut on Saturday. Plihal earned his spot in Paris by finishing second in the event at the 2024 World Rowing Final Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta. Racing in the fourth of six heats, Plihal will take on scullers from Brazil, Bermuda, Monaco, and Individual Neutral Athlete, with the top three advancing to the quarterfinals. Individual Neutral Athlete Yauheni Zalaty finished seventh in the event at the 2023 World Rowing Championships.

In the women's single sculls, Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) earned a spot on her third Olympic team by winning the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Rowing in early April. Kohler, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist in the women’s quadruple sculls, won bronze in the single at the 2019 World Rowing Championships and finished fourth in the event at last year’s world championships. Racing in the sixth and final heat, Kohler will take on scullers from Kuwait, Serbia, Togo, and Austria. Serbia’s Jovana Arsic finished ninth at last year’s world championships and won the event at the 2024 European Rowing Championships. Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig also is competing at her third Olympic Games, having won bronze in the event in Tokyo. She finished seventh at last year’s world championships. The top three finishers will advance directly to the quarterfinals.

In the 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) qualified for the Games after winning the Olympic trials and then winning the Final Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta in May. The duo finished 13th at last year’s world championships. Racing in the first of three heats, Davison and Koszyk will take on crews from the Netherlands, New Zealand, China, and Serbia, with the top three crews advancing directly to the semifinals. The Netherlands’ Melvin Twellaar and Stefan Broenink won gold at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. Davison was part of the men’s eight in Tokyo, finishing fourth, while Koszyk is making his Olympic debut.

Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION) and Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center – Sarasota) joined forces in July of 2022 and went on to finish fifth at the World Rowing Championships later that summer. The duo reunited in 2023, winning bronze at the world championships, and were nominated to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team in late March. At the 2024 World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne, Vitas and Wagner won gold in the event ahead of Australia and Norway. On Saturday, the duo will take on the Netherlands, New Zealand, Italy, and Great Britain in the first of three heats. New Zealand’s Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis finished fifth at last year’s world championships. Francis won silver in the event in Tokyo, while Spoors won silver in the women’s eight. Wagner is racing at her second Olympics, having finished fifth in the double in Tokyo, while Vitas is making her Olympic debut.

The U.S. women's quadruple sculls crew of Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION), Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/ University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), and Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill./University of Wisconsin/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) won the Final Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta in May to qualify for Paris. The U.S. finished 11th last year, with O’Connor and Joyce returning from that boat. All four American women will be making their Olympic debuts in Paris. On Saturday, the crew will take on Switzerland, Germany, and Great Britain in the second of two heats, with the top two finishers advancing directly to the final. Great Britain is the defending world champion.

Rowing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will take place July 27-August 3. Heats continue on Sunday and Monday, with medal races beginning on Wednesday. Click here for a complete race schedule.

In total, the U.S. qualified 12 crews for the Olympics including the women's single sculls, men's single sculls, women's double sculls, men's double sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, women's quadruple sculls, women's pair, men's pair, women's four, men's four, women's eight and men's eight. The U.S. leads the way with Romania in qualifying the most boats to race in Paris.

Of the 42 athletes who will be competing in Paris, 17 are returning Olympians with three Olympic medals amongst them. Thirty-eight have competed on previous senior national teams, while four will be making their senior team debuts.

USRowing would like to thank our national team sponsors including our Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams, Filippi Lido; our Official Apparel Provider, 776BC; our Official Partner, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., our Exclusive Supplement Supplier, Thorne HealthTech; our Official Performance Electronics Outfitter, Nielsen-Kellerman; the National Rowing Foundation; and TrainingPeaks, the Official Training and Coaching Software of USRowing's High Performance Team.