Four Boats Advance to Semifinals on Friday at 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships

Four U.S. boats advanced to the semifinals during Friday's racing at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Racice, Czech Republic. The lightweight women's single sculls, women's single sculls, and lightweight men's double sculls all advanced from the repechages, while the men's single sculls advanced through the quarterfinals.

Five-time Under 23 National Team member Brigid Kennedy (East Greenwich, R.I./Harvard University) advanced to tomorrow's semifinals thanks to a second-place finish in her repechage of the lightweight women's single. Switzerland's Eline Rol took the lead off the start, with Kennedy sitting in fourth position. The American was able to move herself into second place at the hallway point before setting her sights on the Swiss sculler. Kennedy then cut the lead to just over a second going into the final 500 meters, but Rol held on for the victory.

"My goal for today was to execute a better start than in my heat," said Kennedy, who finished fourth in the event in 2019. "My competitors this year are quick off the line, and I certainly need to work to stay with the pack. I'm pleased with how my race went today, but I know I'll need to find more speed tomorrow. I'm hoping to have a stronger first 500 and find more speed in the sprint."

Rol won the race in a 7:56.63, with Kennedy crossing in a 7:58.22.

"Many things feel different this year due to COVID, but even with the chaos, it seems that athletes were able to continue training and make huge strides," Kennedy said. "I am so impressed by the speed of the women's light single field this year and am excited to see how it carries through semis and finals this weekend."

Racing in the first of four quarterfinals of the men's single sculls, Will Legenzowski (Vista, N.Y./Brown University) finished third to qualify for tomorrow's semifinals. With three to advance, Poland's Piotr Plominski took the early lead over Slovenia's Filip-Matej Pfeifer, with Legenzowski sitting in third. Plominski continued to build his lead coming into the 1,000-meter mark as Germany's Jonas Gelsen moved into third position.

"The race today was really special given the conditions, and everyone who qualified for the (semifinals) broke seven minutes," Legenzowski said. "For me, I was really focused on tapping down and clearing the blades, which made an especially big difference given the rough conditions. For now, I'm focused on recovering from a poor night's sleep and getting the right mental space to be able to get into the A final on Sunday."

As the scullers moved into the second half of the race, Gelsen and Legenzowski passed the Slovenian and pulled away from the rest of the field to solidify their qualification spots. Plominski won the race in a 6:48.65, with Gelsen finishing in a 6:53.42. Legenzowski took third in a 6:57.90.

The lightweight men's double sculls crew of Simon Dubiel (Seattle, Wash./University of Pennsylvania) and Eli Rabinowitz (Rye, N.Y./Georgetown University) finished second in Friday's repechage to advance to the semifinals. With three to advance, Ireland and the U.S. jumped out to the early lead on Canada and Slovakia and easily advanced to tomorrow's semis. Ireland won the race in a 6:32.71, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:47.55. Canada took the third qualifying spot.

In the women's single sculls, Anna Matthes (Cambridge, Mass./Yale University) also advanced to the semifinals thanks to a second-place finish in her repechage. With two to advance, France's Audrey Feutrie jumped out to an open-water lead in the first 500 meters, with Matthes and Croatia's Bruna Milinovic in second and third positions, respectively. Matthes rowed away from Milinovic in the second 500 meters to lock down the second qualifying spot. Feutrie finished with a time of 7:41.47, with Matthes crossing in a 7:47.07.

In the second semifinal of the women's quadruple sculls, the crew of Clare Naughton (Burlington, Mass./Yale University), Susan Cook (Portland, Ore./Boston University), Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Yale University) and Samantha Henriksen (Chicago, Ill./University of California) finished fifth and now will race in the B final for places 7-12 overall. With three to advance to the final, the U.S. boat got off the line in fourth position and was still within striking distance of a qualification spot midway through the race. However, the Americans were unable to keep pace in the third 500 meters, dropping out of contention. Switzerland won the race in a 6:22.51 followed by Russia and the Czech Republic. The U.S. finished in a 6:37.10.

After finishing third in their morning repechage of the men's double sculls, Tucker Thomas (Naples, Fla./Boston University) and Simon Hatcher (Portland, Ore./Brown University) came back to win the first of two C/D semifinals to advance to the C finals for places 13-18 overall. The C/D semi was a tight, four-boat race the entire way down the course. The U.S. got off the line in fourth position before moving into third at the 1,000-meter mark. A strong push over the third 500 meters gave the U.S. the lead. Thomas and Hatcher then held off a late charge by Sweden to win the race by 0.44 seconds. The U.S. won with a time of 6:29.49, with Sweden finishing second and Canada coming in third.

In the men's quadruple sculls, Owen Maier (Newtown Square, Pa/Williams College), Keelan Good (Alameda, Calif./Princeton University), Pablo Matan (San Jose, Calif./University of Washington) and Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn./Princeton University) finished fourth in the repechage, missing the semifinals by just over three seconds. Chile won the race in a 5:52.36, with Lithuania finishing in a 5:55.01. Norway claimed the third spot in the semifinals. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:58.91, giving them a 13th-place overall finish.

In the men's four, Andrew Michael Curry (Dallas, Texas/Dartmouth College), Jordan Backer (Sacramento, Calif.), Louis Gallia (Sacramento, Calif./University of Washington) and William Roesler (Oakland, Calif.) finished sixth in their repechage and now will race in the C Final for overall places 13-17. The U.S. boat fell off the pace off the start and was never able to challenge for a top-three position and a spot in the semifinals. Switzerland won the race in a 6:06.17. The U.S. finished in a 6:40.32.

The women's double sculls duo of Josie Konopka (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Pennsylvania) and Kate Maeitta (Wayland, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) also finished sixth in their repechage and now will race in the C final. The crew got off the line in fourth position but couldn't keep up with the top three boats during the second 500 meters. Lithuania won the race in a 7:16.07. The U.S. finished in a 7:30.00.

In the lightweight women's double sculls, Elaine Tierney (West Chester, Pa./Temple University) and Emily Molins (Wilmette, Ill./Stanford University) finished sixth in their repechage and now will race in Final B for places 7-10. With two to advance, Turkey and Hungary had taken control of the race by the 1,000-meter mark. Turkey won the race in a 7:12.93. The U.S. clocked a 7:37.73.

Racing continues on Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m. local time with placement finals, the remaining semifinals, and finals in nine events. The U.S. will have seven crews racing for medals tomorrow including the women's four with coxswain, men's four with coxswain, lightweight women's pair, lightweight men's pair, women's pair, lightweight women's quadruple sculls and lightweight men's quadruple sculls.

Finals will conclude on Sunday. Racing is being streamed live daily at www.worldrowing.com.

Complete press coverage, athlete bios and links to event information are available here. Follow along with the U.S. Under 23 National Team as it competes at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships by using the hashtag #WRU23Champs.