Lightweight Women’s Double Wins Gold, Six Crews Win Medals on Sunday in Poznan

The lightweight women's double sculls duo of Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/Sarasota Crew) and Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Sarasota Crew) brought home a gold medal on Sunday to highlight a six-medal day for the United States at World Rowing Cup 2 in Poznan, Poland. In total, the U.S. won seven medals this weekend on Lake Malta.

In addition to gold in the lightweight women's double, the U.S. won silver in the women's pair and bronze in the men's pair, women's double sculls, men's four, and men's single sculls on Sunday. The U.S. also won gold in the lightweight women's single sculls on Saturday.

In the final of the lightweight women's double, Reckford and Sechser held a slight lead over Ireland's Lydia Heaphy and Margaret Cremen at the 500-meter mark before using a strong second quarter to gain control of the race. The Americans continued to build their lead over the Irish boat to more than five seconds during the middle 1,000 meters before cruising to a 4.93-second victory. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:57.44, with Australia's Anneka Reardon and Lucy Coleman catching Ireland at the line for the silver medal. Australia finished in a time of 7:02.37, with Ireland clocking a 7:02.53 to hold off China for the bronze medal by 0.09 seconds.

Both U.S. women's pairs reached the medal race by winning their heats earlier in the week. In Sunday's final, the USA 1 crew of Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) and Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) brought home the silver medal, while the USA 2 crew of 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) finished fourth. Wanamaker and Collins took the lead off the start, with The Netherlands' crew of Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester sitting in second position, and the two boats quickly separated themselves from the rest of the field in a battle for the gold medal. The U.S. continued to lead at the midway point, but the Dutch crew was beginning to make its move. The U.S. and The Netherlands crossed the 1,500-meter mark in a dead heat, but the Dutch boat was able to pull away over the final 500 meters, winning with a time of 7:16.61. USA 1 finished with a time of 7:18.82.

Meanwhile, Salmons and Baker were in a race for the bronze medal. The duo got off the line in third position before dropping to fifth at the midway point. Salmons and Baker then reeled in the Czech Republic crew to move into fourth entering the final 500 meters. However, USA 2 was unable to match Ireland's sprint, settling for fourth place. Ireland clocked a 7:26.16 to win the bronze medal, with USA 2 clocking a 7:28.98.

The U.S. also reached the medal stand in the men's pair, with 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) taking home the bronze medal. New Zealand took the early lead on the field and was never really challenged for the gold medal, building a four-second lead by the midway point and rowing to a five-second victory. New Zealand. crossed the line in a 6:32.32. Best and Grady got off the line in fourth position before moving into second, just ahead of The Netherlands, at the 1,000-meter mark. The Dutch and U.S. boats continued to battle each other over the back half of the race, with The Netherlands finishing in a 6:37.31 and the U.S. crossing in a 6:38.21.

The U.S. also had two boats racing in the final of the women's double sculls, with the USA 1 crew of Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) and Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center) earning a bronze medal. The Netherlands' Roos de Jong and Laila Youssifou led from start to finish, clocking a 6:54.67 to win the gold medal. China got off the line in second place before the Irish boat moved into silver-medal position in the second quarter of the race. USA 1 sat a couple of seconds behind China at the midway point before beginning to cut into their lead in the third 500 meters. Kohler and Vitas continued to press the Chinese boat over the final 500 meters before passing them to claim third. Ireland won the silver medal in a 6:59.03, with USA 1 clocking a 6:59.49. China finished 0.3 seconds back in a 6:59.79. 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) sat in fifth position most of the way down the course, crossing the line in a 7:07.59.

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) came back in the final 500 meters to secure a bronze medal in Sunday's final. Australia took control of the race in the middle 1,000 meters before holding off The Netherlands for the gold medal. The U.S. got off the line in sixth place and sat in fourth behind China as the boats hit the final quarter of the race. However, the Americans were able to row through China during the sprint. Australia won the race in a 6:03.20. The Netherlands finished second in a 6:04.21, with the U.S. crossing the line in a 6:07.54.

Men's single sculler Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) capped off the U.S. medal haul on Sunday by winning another bronze medal. Davison rowed in fourth position for the first half of the race before passing Denmark's Bastian Secher in the third 500 meters. The Netherlands' Melvin Twellaar won gold in a time of 6:51.38, with France's Matthieu Androdias finishing second in a 6:56.21. Davison clocked a 6:58.21.

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 fourth in the final, missing a medal by just under two seconds. Australia won the race in a 6:39.72, with The Netherlands taking silver in a 6:41.23. The U.S. got off the line in sixth place but was in the hunt for the bronze medal with Ireland and New Zealand with 500-meters to go. However, the Irish boat was able to grab third during the final sprint. Ireland finished with a time of 6:42.95, with the U.S. crossing in a 6:44.71.

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 fifth in the final. Liu and Heese moved into fifth during the second quarter of the race but were unable to chase down the top three crews and a medal spot. Norway's Lars Benske and Ask Jarl Tjoem used a strong back half of the race to win gold in a 6:21.61. France took home the silver medal, with Switzerland claiming the bronze medal. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:27.48.

The U.S. men's double sculls crews placed second and third, respectively, in the B final to finish eighth and ninth overall. 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) battled Bulgaria the entire way down the course, getting bested at the line by just 0.13 seconds. Bulgaria got off the start strong, building a 2.48-second lead in the first 500, but Kirkegaard and Cardno cut the lead to less than a half-second at the midway point of the race. The Americans took over the top position in the third 500 but were unable to hold onto the lead in the final sprint. Bulgaria finished with a time of 6:35.70, with USA 1 clocking a 6:35.83. 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) sat in fourth position through the 1,500-meter mark before passing Estonia in the final 500 meters. USA2 finished with a time of 6:37.17.

In the B final of the women's single sculls, Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University/Boston Rowing Federation) came in third for a ninth-place finish overall. Fellows got off the line in sixth position before moving into third at the 1,000-meter mark. The Netherlands' Lisa Scheenaard took the lead off the start and maintained her margin the entire way down the course. Scheenaard finished with a time of 7:58.76, 2.61 seconds ahead of Bulgaria's Desislava Angelova. Fellows clocked an 8:04.44.

In the B final of the men's pair, the USA 2 crew of Michael Clougher (Canton, Mass./Connecticut College/Penn AC) and Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University/California Rowing Club) finished fourth for a 10th-place overall finish. Clougher and LeRoux got off the line in fifth position before moving into third place at the halfway point, just two seconds off of France's pace. At the line, France crossed in a 6:52.67 to win the race, with China clocking a 6:52.95 and Hungary finishing in a 6:53.22. The U.S. boat finished with a time of 6:58.12.

By virtue of winning their events at USRowing's National Selection Regattas earlier this year and finishing in the top six in Poznan, six crews have earned the opportunity to be named to the 2022 World Championships' roster in their respective events. The crews have until Thursday, June 30, to declare their intent to compete. These crews include Ben Davison, men's single 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.

Full results from World Rowing Cup 2 are available on WorldRowing.com.