Kohler Wins Quarterfinal, Four Crews Advance on Wednesday at 2023 World Rowing Championships

Women's single sculler Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) won her quarterfinal and was one of four U.S. crews to advance on Wednesday at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

In addition to Kohler, the men's pair and lightweight men's single sculls also advanced to the semifinals from the quarterfinals, while the PR3 mixed double sculls won its repechage to advance to the final.

Kohler, a 10-time national team member, advanced to the semifinals by winning the third quarterfinal by open water. With three to advance, Kohler was down by a bowball to Serbia's Jovana Arsic at the halfway point of the race. The Serbian pushed her lead to about a half-length at the 1,250-meter mark. That's when Kohler began to chip away at the margin. The American closed the gap to less than a second as the scullers entered the final quarter of the race and then pulled into the lead with about 300 meters to go. Kohler then rowed away from Arsic to win by a little bit of open water. Kohler finished with a time of 7:52.41, with Arsic finishing in a 7:56.23. Spain's Virginia Diaz Rivas claimed the other qualifying spot in the semifinals, finishing another length back in a 7:59.32.

"Going up against Serbia, (I knew) the hometown energy would be tough. I've been there before, so I was ready for that," Kohler said. "The goal was to win, so check that box and move on to the biggest race of the regatta – the A/B semifinal. Each race you have to reset. Everyone is going to bring their A game, so the goal is to always put the bowball first."

In the PR3 mixed double sculls, Todd Vogt (Rochester, N.Y. /Portland Boat Club) and Gemma Wollenschlaeger (St. Augustine Beach, Fla./Temple University) advanced to the final by winning their repechage. With two to advance, the American duo moved into the lead just before the 500-meter mark and then used a strong second quarter of the race to gain a length advantage on Great Britain's Samuel Murray and Annabel Caddick at the midway point. Vogt and Wollenschlaeger powered away from the British crew over the final 1,000 meters to win by a little more than 10 seconds. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:32.26, with Great Britain crossing in a 7:42.38.

"It was a good race," Wollenschlaeger said. "The conditions were a little tough with a cross and a headwind. We just stuck to our plan and kept our heads down."

"I thought it was a well-executed race today," Vogt said. "We went out and did what we wanted to do. We tried to be cleaner off the start and push a little harder near the beginning, and I thought we did a good job of that."

In the men's pair, Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash./University of Washington/Seattle Scullers/Penn AC) and William Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College) finished second in the second quarterfinal and now will race in the semifinals. With three to advance, Spain, the U.S., and New Zealand took command of the qualifying spots in the first 500 meters, with Spain's Javier Garcia Ordonez and Aime Canalejo Pazos taking the early lead. Olson and Bender moved into the top position at the halfway point and trailed the Spanish crew by a bowball as the boats entered the final 500 meters. Spain was able to hold on for a one-second victory at the line, with the U.S. taking second and New Zealand third. Spain clocked a 7:02.91, while the American boat finished in a 7:03.93. New Zealand's Phillip Wilson and Benjamin Taylor finished with a time of 7:08.78. Olson and Bender will race in the semifinal tomorrow morning.

"My old coach, Michael Callahan, always used to say win the recovery. We were really good at (University of Washington) at recovering," Olson said. "I have a lot of those old protocols that we used to do there. At IRAs, you race every single day, and the goal is to be better every single day as the regatta progresses, and I think that's (our) goal, too."

In the lightweight men's single sculls, Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University/New York Athletic Club) took third in the fourth quarterfinal to advance to the semifinals. With three to advance, Melvin got off the line in fourth position before quickly moving back into a qualifying position in the second quarter of the race. Melvin continued to row in third the rest of the way down the course. Italy's Niels Torre took the early lead, with France's Baptiste Savaete rowing closely behind in second. Torre won the race in a 7:37.74, with Savaete finishing in a 7:39.47. Melvin crossed in a 7:41.90.

Men's single sculler Eliot Putnam (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University/New York Athletic Club) finished fourth in his quarterfinal and now will race in the C/D semifinals on Thursday. With the top three to advance to the semifinals, Putnam got off the line in fifth place before moving into fourth position just after the 1,000-meter mark. However, the American was never able to get on terms with the top three scullers. The Netherland's Simon van Dorp won the race by less than one second, holding off individual neutral athlete Yauheni Zalaty, who crossed in a 7:06.90. Croatia's Damir Martin finished third in a 7:12.33 to secure the last spot in the A/B semifinals. Putnam clocked a 7:20.55.

The lightweight men's double sculls duo of Jimmy McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Delaware/Texas Rowing Center) and Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center) finished fourth in the fourth quarterfinal and will race in the C/D semifinals. With three to advance, the U.S. crew dropped to sixth off the line, and while it made a strong charge in the final 500 meters, it couldn't catch Mexico for a spot in the A/B semifinals. Switzerland's Raphael Ahumada Ireland and Jan Schaeuble took the early lead and were never challenged for the top spot, winning in a 6:52.35. Uzbekistan sat in second through that 1,000-meter mark but couldn't keep pace as Mexico and Poland passed them in the third 500 meters. The Americans made a late charge on Mexico over the final quarter of the race but came up a length short. Poland's Jerzy Kowalski and Daniel Galeza finished second in a 6:58.92, with Mexico's Alexis Bladimir Lopez Garcia and Miguel Angel Carballo Nieto taking third in a 7:00.76. McCullough and Heese clocked a 7:03.24.

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) also finished fourth in the fourth quarterfinal and will race in the C/D semifinals. With three to advance to the A/B semifinals, Davison and Koszyk dropped to fifth off the start but had moved into fourth at the midway point, sitting less than a second off of Norway and the third qualifying spot. The American boat tried to stay within striking distance over the third 500 meters but was unable to close the gap during the final quarter of the race. After leading for the first 1,000 meters, Spain's Rodrigo Conde Romero and Aleix Garcia Pujolar had dropped to third with 500 meters to go, but they were able to rebound in the sprint to win the race in a 6:41.11. Italy's Matteo Sartori and Luca Rambaldi finished second in a 6:42.05, with Norway's Kristoffer Brun and Jan Oscar Stabe Helvig finishing third in a 6:42.23. Davison and Koszyk clocked a 6:48.08.

Racing in the second of four repechages in the PR1 men's single sculls, Andrew Mangan (Buffalo, N.Y./Stanford University/West Side Rowing Club) finished third and now will race in the C/D semifinals on Thursday afternoon. With two scullers to advance, Mangan dropped to third place off the line and was unable to challenge for a qualifying spot for the A/B semifinals. Spain's Javier Garcia Martinez got off to the early lead and continued to row at the front of the field through the 1,500-meter mark. However, Germany's Marcus Klemp was able to pass Garcia Martinez in the final 500 meters to win the race in a 9:35.24. Garcia Martinez finished second in a 9:45.76, with Mangan finishing third in a 10:22.85.

The PR2 mixed double sculls crew of Russell Gernaat (Redwood City, Calif./Lake Casitas Rowing Club) and Madison Eberhard (Buffalo, N.Y./West Side Rowing Club) finished fourth in the first repechage and will head to Saturday's B final. Poland's Michal Gadowski and Jolanta Majka took the early lead over Brazil's Leandro Sagaz Dos Santos and Gessyca Guerra and the U.S. boat. At the halfway point, The Netherlands' crew of Chantal Haenen and Cornelis de Koning had passed the Americans, with Poland and Brazil still leading the field. Poland continued to control the back half of the race, while the Dutch boat passed Brazil to take the second qualification spot for the final. Poland won the race in an 8:46.25, with The Netherlands finishing in an 8:51.45. The U.S. finished in a 9:12.74.

In addition to those that advanced to semifinals on Wednesday, the U.S. will have seven other boats racing in semifinals tomorrow.

Racing at her first world championships, lightweight women's single sculler Sophia Luwis (McLean, Va./The College of William & Mary/Whitemarsh Boat Club) won her heat to advance directly to the semifinals. She will take on scullers from Italy, France, Romania, Poland, and Norway in the second of two semifinals, with the top three moving on to Friday's final. Romania's Gianina van Groningen also won her heat, while France's Aurelie Morizot, who finished second in her heat, won World Rowing Cup II.

Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College/California Rowing Club) and Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University/California Rowing Club) advanced to the semifinals thanks to a victory in the second of four repechages on Tuesday. The duo will race against boats from Italy, Greece, Australia, The Netherlands, and Czech Republic in the second of two heats, with the top three moving on to the medal race. Australia and The Netherlands won their heats, while Greece also won their repechage.

Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee/Cambridge Boat Club) and Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Cambridge Boat Club) won the third of four heats of the lightweight women's double sculls to advance directly to the semifinals. The American boat will race against Switzerland, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, and France in the second of two semifinals, with the top three advancing to the final. Canada also won its heat, with New Zealand and Ireland taking second place in their respective heats.

In the women's four, Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), and Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame/USRowing Training Center-Princeton) finished second behind The Netherlands to earn a spot in the semifinals. On Thursday, the crew will race against Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, China, and Ireland in the second semifinal, with the top three finishers moving on to the final. Great Britain won its heat, while China finished second in its opening race.

In the men's four, Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club), Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club), and Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club) defeated Australia to win the third heat and move directly into the semifinals. The U.S. will take on Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, France, and Ukraine in the first semifinal. The top three finishers will advance to the final. The Dutch crew also won its heat, clocking the fastest time of the opening round. France finished second in their heat.

The women's quadruple sculls crew of Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club), Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill./University of Wisconsin/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/Sarasota Crew), and Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION) finished second in the repechage to advance to Thursday's semifinals. The crew will take on Ukraine, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Australia in the second of two heats, with the top three earning spots in the final. Great Britain won its heat, while Germany and Switzerland finished second in their heats to reach the semifinals.

The men's quadruple sculls crew of Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania/Vesper Boat Club), Will Legenzowski (Vista, N.Y./Brown University/California Rowing Club), Liam Galloway (Ridgefield, Conn./Yale University), and Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville/Texas Rowing Center) reached the semifinals thanks to a third-place finish in the second of two repechages. The U.S. will race against Norway, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, and Germany in the first semifinal. The top three will advance to the final. Poland and Italy both won their heats, while Ukraine finished second in its heat.

In total, the U.S. has 22 boats competing this week in Belgrade. In addition to world championships being on the line, the regatta is the first opportunity for countries to qualify boats for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Semifinals begin on Thursday, with medal races starting Friday. Nearly 1,000 athletes from 74 delegations are scheduled to compete. Italy has entered the most boats with 24, followed by Germany with 23.

The live race tracker will be available for all races on www.worldrowing.com. Live video streaming will be available on the World Rowing website for all eight days of competition (local restrictions apply). Video streaming will start five minutes before the first race.

Click here for USRowing's daily coverage of the 2023 World Rowing Championships. Click here for USRowing's photo galleries. Click here for the official schedule, heat sheets, and results on worldrowing.com. Follow along with the U.S. National Team at the 2023 World Rowing Championships by using the hashtags #WorldRowingChamps and #WRCHBelgrade.

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Centers.