Jones Nabel Wins Gold Again, 10 Additional U.S. Boats Racing for Medals on Sunday

Mary Jones Nabel made it two for two on the world cup circuit as she won the gold medal in the lightweight women's single sculls on Saturday at World Rowing Cup 2 in Poznan, Poland. In addition, 10 more U.S. crews will be racing for medals during Sunday's finals on Lake Malta.

Coming off a victory in the lightweight women's single sculls at the first World Rowing Cup of the season last month in Serbia, Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee/Cambridge Boat Club) put on another dominant performance in Poznan, winning the race by more than four seconds over Australia's Georgia Nesbitt. Germany's Mary-Louise Drager took the early lead and continued to row at the front of field as the scullers reached the midway point. That's when Jones Nabel made her move, taking nearly four seconds on the field over the third 500 meters and cementing control of the race. Jones Nabel finished with a time of 7:32.08 to earn the victory, with Nesbitt clocking a 7:36.28. Drager took the bronze medal in a 7:37.89.

The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/Sarasota Crew) and Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Sarasota Crew) posted the fastest time of the semifinals, clocking a 6:57.81 to advance to tomorrow's final. Reckford and Sechser held a slight lead on France 500 meters into the race before using a strong move to separate from the field at the halfway point. The U.S. continued to build its lead over the third 500 meters before cruising to a three-second victory at the line. Poland chased down China to take second by the slimmest of margins, finishing with a time of 7:00.86 to China's 7:00.87. The three boats will be joined by Switzerland, Australia, and Ireland in the final.

Racing in the second semifinal of the women's double sculls, both U.S. crews finished in the top three to advance to tomorrow's final with the USA 1 boat of Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) and Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center) earning the victory and the USA 2 crew of Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club) finishing third. The Netherlands 2 crew jumped out to the early lead on the field, with USA 1 sitting in second at the 500-meter mark. Kohler and Vitas began to reel in the Dutch boat as the crews passed through the midway point and then moved into the lead just after the 1,000-meter mark.

Meanwhile, Kallfelz and Delleman sat in fourth at the halfway point before passing a faltering Dutch boat in the third 500 meters. Kohler and Vitas held off a late charge by Germany's Frauke Hundeling and Sophie Leupold to claim the victory in a 7:00.99. Germany finished with a time of 7:02.01, with Delleman and Kallfelz crossing in a 7:04.51. The Netherlands, Ireland, and China advanced from the first semifinal, with the Dutch boat of Laila Youssifou and Roos de Jong winning in a 6:51.77.

Racing in the first semifinal of the men's single sculls, Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) finished second to advance to tomorrow's final. The Netherlands' Melvin Twellaar led the race from start to finish, winning with a time of 6:55.36. Davison got off the line in third place before passing Montenegro's Quentin Antognelli in the second 500 meters. The American then pulled away from Antognelli over the back half of the race to take second place in a 6:59.94. Antognelli finished third in a 7:05.55. The three will take on scullers from France, Denmark, and Canada in the final. France's Matthieu Androdias clocked the exact time as Twellaar in winning the second semifinal, setting up what should be a tight race for the medals.

Racing in the second of two semifinals of the men's pair, the USA 1 duo of Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club) and Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) finished second to qualify for tomorrow's race for the medals. Best and Grady jumped out to the early lead on France and Japan in the first 500 meters, with Switzerland sitting just off the pace. The U.S. and Japan then began to separate themselves during the middle 1,000 meters, with the American boat holding a half-second lead on the Japanese boat as the crews entered the final quarter of the race. Japan was able to chase down the U.S. over the final 500 meters, with Switzerland securing the final qualification spot. Japan finished with a time of 6:30.33, with the U.S. finishing 0.47 seconds behind in a 6:30.80.

The USA 2 crew of Michael Clougher (Canton, Mass./Connecticut College/Penn AC) and Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University/California Rowing Club) finished sixth in the first semifinal of the men's pair and now will race in Sunday's B final for places 7-12. Clougher and LeRoux dropped to sixth off the start and were never able to get back into contention for a qualification spot. The Netherlands' Nicolas van Spring and Lennart van Lierop won the first semi in a 6:24.60, with New Zealand finishing less than a half-second behind in second position. Moldova claimed the other qualifying spot in the final. The three will join Japan, USA 1, and Switzerland in the final.

The women's four of Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION), Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton), Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center- Princeton), and Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) finished third in its semifinal to advance to tomorrow's medal race. Australia and The Netherlands grabbed the early lead, with Poland holding a slight advantage over the U.S. for third place as the crews crossed the 500-meter mark. However, the American boat made a strong move during the second quarter of the race to gain a three-second advantage over Poland. The top three boats continued to walk away from the field over the final half of the race, with Australia winning in a time of 6:27.70. The Netherlands finished second in a 6:28.52, with the U.S. finishing just behind in a 6:29.03. The three crews will take on Ireland, New Zealand, and Canada in the final.

The lightweight men's double sculls duo of Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania/Texas Rowing Center) and Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center) also finished third in their semifinal to advance to the final. Racing in the second semifinal, Liu and Heese were in the middle of a tight, four-way battle for the three qualification spots through the 1,500-meter mark. France held the early lead before Japan inched ahead at the midway point. Then the Ukraine took over the top position with just 500 meters to go. It was Japan who broke during the final sprint, as France, Ukraine, and the U.S. pulled away. At the line, France took the victory in a 6:22.86, with the Ukraine finishing second in a 6:25.25. Liu and Heese crossed in a 6:26.70. The three boats will take on Norway, Germany, and Switzerland in the final.

Both U.S. men's double sculls crews finished out of the top three and now will race in B finals on Sunday. The USA 2 crew of Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania/Vesper Boat Club) narrowly missed a spot in the final, finishing less than one second out of a qualifying position. Plihal and Williams got off the line in sixth position before working their way back to fourth as the crews hit the final 500 meters. The duo tried to cut into the Germans' hold on third during the sprint but couldn't break through. Australia's Caleb Antill and Jack Cleary won the race in a 6:16.09, followed by The Netherlands 2 and Germany 1. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:21.16.

The USA 1 boat of Jonathan Kirkegaard (Philadelphia, Pa./Purdue University/Texas Rowing Center) and Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville/Texas Rowing Center) finished fifth in the first semifinal of the men's double. The U.S. rowed in fourth position for much of the race but could not maintain contact with the top three crews and the qualification spots for the final. Croatia's Martin and Valent Sinkovic won the race in a 6:13.29, with Poland and The Netherlands 1 boat also reaching the final. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:29.30. The two U.S. boats will take on Estonia, China, Bulgaria, and Hungary in the B final.

In the first semifinal of the women's single sculls, Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University/Boston Rowing Federation) finished fourth and now will race in the B final on Sunday. Fellows got off the line in sixth position before working her way into fourth at the midway point of the race. However, she was unable to chase down the Czech Republic's Lenka Antosova for the final qualifying spot. The Netherlands' Karolien Florijn won with a time of 7:29.93, with China's Shiyu Lu finishing second and Antosova finishing third. Fellows finished with a time of 7:41.34. She will race scullers from France, China, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, and New Zealand in the B final.

In the lightweight men's single sculls, James McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Delaware/Texas Rowing Center) finished fourth in the B final for a 10th-place overall finish. After finishing sixth in his morning semifinal, McCullough came back to finish fourth in his final race of the regatta. In what was a tight, five-way race for the entirety of the course, McCullough crossed the line in a 6:54.89. Uruguay's Bruno Cetraro Berriolo won the race in a 6:51.90.

The U.S. will have three other crews racing in tomorrow's medal races. Both U.S. women's pairs won their heats to advance to Sunday's final. Racing in the first heat, the crew of Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) and Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) recorded the fastest time of the day, while Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) and Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/The Ohio State University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) won the second heat. The two crews will take on the Czech Republic, Ireland, The Netherlands, and China in the final.

The men's four of Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wis./University of Wisconsin/California Rowing Club), Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), and Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University/California Rowing Club) advanced to the final by winning yesterday afternoon's repechage. The U.S. will take on two crews from The Netherlands, as well as boats from Poland, China, and Australia in the final.

Racing concludes tomorrow with finals in the Olympic and Paralympic boat classes.

By virtue of winning their events at USRowing's National Selection Regattas earlier this year, seven crews have the opportunity to secure spots on the 2022 World Championships' roster in their respective events here in Poland. These boats will need to finish in the top six in Poznan to earn the right to be named to the team. This list includes Ben Davison, men's single sculls; Kevin Cardno and Jonathan Kirkegaard, men's double sculls; Kara Kohler and Sophia Vitas, women's double sculls; Zachary Heese and Jasper Liu, lightweight men's double sculls; Michelle Sechser and Molly Reckford, lightweight women's double sculls; Justin Best and Michael Grady, men's pair; and Claire Collins and Madeleine Wanamaker, women's pair. If they qualify, the crews will have until Thursday, June 30, to declare their intent to compete.

For the remaining crews, Poznan is an opportunity to test their speed against international competition prior to the start of selection camp and national team trials later this summer.

Full event coverage, including heat sheets and results, is available on WorldRowing.com.