Four Crews Advance on Day One of 2024 Olympic Games

Women’s single sculler Kara Kohler won her heat and three other U.S. crews advanced on Saturday as racing got underway at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

In the women's single sculls, Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) pulled away from Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig to win the sixth and final heat to advance to Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Lobnig got off the line in first position with Serbia’s Jovana Arsic slotting into second and Kohler in third. During the second 500 meters, Kohler passed Arsic and came up to about even with Lobnig as the scullers entered the back half of the race. Kohler methodically rowed through Lobnig in the third 500, taking a two-second advantage into the final quarter of the race before pulling away for a 6.93-second victory. Kohler clocked a 7:32.46 to win the race. Lobnig finished second in a 6:39.39, with Arsic taking the last spot in the quarterfinals in a 7:48.29.

“It’s definitely a confidence boost, so I wanted to go out and have a solid race to have some confidence moving forward,” Kohler said. “It’s definitely good to let her rip out there. Each race is going to be more intense with a lot more on the line, so I think staying present and remembering how to row with all the excitement and adrenaline is the big thing.”

Men’s single sculler Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) advanced to Tuesday’s quarterfinals thanks to a second-place finish in the fourth of six heats. With three to advance, Individual Neutral Athlete Yauheni Zalaty took the early lead and quickly rowed away from pack in the first 500 meters to solidify his qualifying spot. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Lucas Verthein Ferreira, Monaco’s Quentin Antognelli, and Plihal were making it a three-way race for the final two qualifying spots. The three scullers hit the 500-meter mark basically even, with Antognelli holding a slim lead on Ferreira and Plihal. The three boats were still virtually even at the midway point, as Ferreira and Plihal inched ahead of Antognelli. In the third 500 meters, Ferreira and Plihal pulled away from Antognelli, taking a boat-length lead into the final 500 meters. At the line, Plihal was able to take second in a photo finish. Zalaty won the race in a 6:51.45. Plihal clocked a 6:54.95, with Ferreira taking third in a 6:54.96.

"First trip down the course, so that was good,” Plihal said. “Got the job done today. Obviously, Zalaty is pretty fast. Being able to be somewhat in close contact with him and then having a good race with Lucas from Brazil, that was great. We have a bit of a friendly rivalry from the Pan Ams, so being able to finish on the right side of the very slim margin today was good, but there’s a lot more rounds of racing.”

Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) and Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) finished third in the first of three heats of the men’s double sculls, qualifying directly for Tuesday’s semifinals. With three to advance, the American crew got off the line in fourth position before moving into third behind the Netherlands and New Zealand. In the third quarter of the race, the U.S. took a canvas lead on New Zealand’s Jordan Parry and Robbie Manson and sat about a boat-length behind the Dutch boat of Melvin Twellaar and Stefan Broenink, the defending world champions. Over the final 500 meters, the Dutch crew maintained its lead as New Zealand was able to inch ahead of the Americans at the line to take second. The Netherlands finished with a time of 6:14.13. New Zealand took second in a 6:16.41, with the U.S. finishing another 0.07 seconds back in a 6:16.48.

“I think things have been going well. I feel like we have been able to put in a lot of good training, a lot of miles between the qualifier and now,” Davison said. “We kind of saw today as our last training day. We needed to qualify today and go fast on Tuesday. That’s going to be a tough semi.”

“It’s good to get racing under our belt,” Koszyk said. “We’ve only raced internationally at world cup and world champs, so it’s another chance to go down the course with the noise and distractions and stress. We’ll definitely use it to our advantage.”

In the women’s double sculls, Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION) and Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center – Sarasota) also finished third in their heat to move on to Tuesday’s semifinals. Racing in the first of three semis, Wagner and Vitas sat in fourth position 500 meters into the race before moving into third and a qualifying spot by the 1,000-meter mark. Great Britain’s Rebecca Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne led through the 1,500-meter mark before New Zealand’s Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis were able to overtake them in the final sprint. New Zealand won the race in a 6:51.68, with Great Britain finishing in a 6:52.31. Wagner and Vitas clocked a 6:56.47.

“We’re not trying to do anything outside of our realm here. It’s all just executing what we’ve been training for the past three months, so we’re just trying to do that and what we did today was not that,” Vitas said. “Trying to find it for the next round is the goal.”

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) finished fourth in the second heat and now will race in Monday’s repechage, or second-chance race. The U.S. boat dropped to fourth off the line and was still within contact of a qualifying position as the crews approached the halfway point. However, the American crew was unable to keep pace over the back half of the race. Great Britain pulled away from the field in the first 1,500 meters before cruising to a comfortable victory over a late-charging German crew. Great Britain won the race in a 6:13.35, with Germany taking second in a 6:15.28. Both crews advanced to the final. Switzerland finished third, with the U.S. finishing fourth in a 6:27.35. The U.S. will take on China, Switzerland, Romania, and Australia in the repechage.

“We learned a lot from that race,” O’Connor said. “I think there were some moments when we didn’t quite fall into the rhythm that we wanted to set, but I think moving forward we know what we need to do better, and we learned a lot. That’s only the third race we’ve done together as a crew, so every step of the way is a huge learning curve.”

“Most of it is learning how to fit better together. We all have a lot of different, very powerful strengths. I think the next step, the final step, is putting it together to making it move as one piece. I think when we get that flow, it’s like unreal. I think sometimes, like today, we need to take what we can learn from it and then on to the next one.”

Five more U.S. boats will hit the water for the first time in Sunday’s heats.

Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) and Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif./Stanford University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) earned their spot for Paris by winning the Olympic trials in April. On Sunday, Thoennes and Czajkowski will take on Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Lithuania in the first of three heats with the top three finishers advancing directly to the semifinals. The Netherlands’ Veronique Meester and Ymkje Clevering are the defending world champions and won gold this May at the 2024 World Rowing Cup II race in Lucerne, Switzerland. Thoennes and Czajkowski finished sixth at the world cup in Lucerne. Thoennes will be competing in her second Olympics, having raced in the eight in Tokyo, while Czajkowski will be making her Olympic debut.

Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College/California Rowing Club) and Billy Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College/California Rowing Club) earned their spot for Paris 2024 in the men's pair by winning the Olympic trials in early April. Bender was part of the pair that finished fifth at last year's world championships, while Bub was a member of the men's eight in Belgrade. On Sunday, the duo will take on crews from Spain, Ireland, Switzerland, and New Zealand in the first of three heats, with the top three moving to the semifinals. Switzerland’s Andrin Gulich and Roman Roeoesli are the defending world champions, while Ireland’s Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney finished third last year. Both Bender and Bub are making their Olympic debuts.

In the lightweight women's double sculls, Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Cambridge Boat Club) and Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/New York Athletic Club) have been reunited for Paris after racing in different boats in 2023. Sechser and Reckford finished fifth in the event at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and won a silver medal at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. On Sunday, the duo will take on crews from Japan, Peru, Ireland, and Romania in the second of three heats, with the top two finishers advancing directly to the semifinals. Romania won bronze at last year’s world championships and returns Ionela Cozmiuc from that lineup. Sechser and Reckford won bronze at the 2024 World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne.

The women's four features all first-time Olympians in Kaitlin Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Mary Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club). On Sunday, the quartet will race against Great Britain, Denmark, New Zealand, and China in the first of two heats, with the top two finishers qualifying directly for the final. Great Britain finished third at last year’s world championships, crossing the line just ahead of the U.S. entry.

In the men's four, Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club), Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club), and Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club) brought home a silver medal from the 2023 World Rowing Championships and won gold at the 2024 World Rowing Cup II race in Lucerne. On Sunday, the top-seeded crew will take on Australia, France, and Switzerland in the second of two heats, with the top two finishers advancing to the final. Australia is the defending Olympic champion. All four Americans will be competing in their second Olympic Games, with Best, Mead, and Corrigan racing in the eight in Tokyo and Grady racing in the four.

Rowing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will take place July 27-August 3. Heats continue on 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.