Men’s and Women’s Eights Finish Fourth at the 2022 World Rowing Championships

Both the men's and women's eights finished fourth on Sunday during the final day of racing at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic. In total, the U.S. won three medals during the week including silver in the lightweight women's double sculls, silver in the lightweight women's pair, and bronze in the women's pair. The men's eight of Alex Karwoski (Moultonborough, N.H./Cornell University), Nick Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Yale University), Michael Clougher (Canton, Mass./Connecticut College/Penn Athletic Club), Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wis./University of Wisconsin/California Rowing Club), Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), and coxswain Jimmy Catalano (Greenwich Conn./University of Wisconsin) finished fourth in the final, missing a medal by about six seats. The U.S. got off the line in sixth position before moving into fourth at the 1,000-meter mark, a little less than a length off of third-place Australia. The American boat cut a couple of seats off the Australian's lead over the third quarter of the race but could never close down the gap. Great Britain took the early lead and kept The Dutch crew at a close, but comfortable, margin the entire way down the course. Great Britain won the gold medal in a 5:24.41, finishing just over one second ahead of The Netherlands. Australia took the bronze medal in a 6:27.72, with the U.S. boat finishing in a 5:29.20. "We knew that we could make a positive step with each practice and each race," Gaard said. "Today, we knew that we had to get our bowball in front the first 750. We kind of got dropped by the field a bit too much. We had to make it up in the third 500. We had a really solid finishing 500 meters, but it wasn't enough to make up for that first 750 meters. All-in-all, we made great strides throughout the week, but there were other faster boats." While the result wasn't what the eight had hoped, Gaard said the new system has the team set up well as it focuses on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. "The whole system has been very positive," Gaard said. "I think that word is key. It was a whole system. We had (almost) all boats training together in Princeton for the majority of the summer, and you could feed off of the energy in the other boats and from the other people, so in that sense, I thought it was a great place to start for the Paris 2024 campaign. It certainly was one of the most exciting and rewarding summers that I've had in rowing." The women's eight of Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame/USRowing Training Center-Princeton/University of Minnesota), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), and coxswain Hannah Broadland (Sacramento, Calif./San Diego State University/San Diego Rowing Club/USRowing Training Center-Princeton) also finished fourth in its final. Romania had inched ahead at the 500-meter mark, with The Netherlands, Canada, and the U.S. in hot pursuit as they started to get separation from the rest of the field. The Romanians then used a strong second quarter of the race to build its lead to two seconds over Canada and the Dutch boat, with the U.S. a couple of seats off the medal pace. Romania added another second to its lead in the third 500 and walked away for the field to win the gold medal. The Netherlands and Canada were able to solidify the other two medal positions in the third quarter of the race, with the Dutch boat overtaking Canada for the silver medal. Romania won the race in a 6:01.14, followed by The Netherlands in a 6:05.04. Canada won the bronze medal in a 6:07.51, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:09.80. The women's double sculls crew of Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION) and Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center High Performance) finished fifth in its final. The U.S. boat got off the line in sixth position before overtaking Germany in the third 500 meters to move into fifth. However, the Americans were never able to challenge for a medal spot. Romania grabbed the lead off the start, with The Netherlands settling into second place. Meanwhile, Austria and Ireland were waging a battle for the bronze medal. The Austrians held a slight advantage through the 1,500-meter mark before Ireland rowed up even with just 200 meters to go. The Irish boat took the sprint, winning the bronze medal. Romania won gold in a 6:47.77, with the Dutch boat finishing in a 6:51.02 to take the sliver. Ireland clocked a 6:52.81. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:00.49. Four U.S. crews raced in placement finals on Sunday. Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) and Thomas Phifer (New York, N.Y./Middlebury College/Penn Athletic Club) came back to win the B final of the men's double sculls to finish seventh overall. Sixth off the line, the U.S. boat worked its way back into second place as the crews hit the halfway point of the race. The Americans continued to close the gap on the leading Polish crew of Krzysztof Kasparek and Szymon Posnik before winning the sprint to the line. Koszyk and Phifer won the race with a time of 6:19.31, with Poland crossing in a 6:19.96. Koszyk and Phifer recorded the best finish since 2010, when the U.S. duo of Glenn Ochal and Warren Anderson also finished seventh in New Zealand. In the men's single sculls, Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) finished second in the B final for an eighth-place finish overall, recording the best finish for a U.S. men's single sculler since Don Smith also finished eighth at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Poland's Piotr Plominski got off the line first before Davison moved into the top position by about a half-length over Japan's Ryuta Arakawa at the 500-meter mark. Davison continued to build his lead during the second 500 meters before Arakawa cut the deficit back to a half-length at the midway point. Arakawa flipped the race in the third 500 meters, moving from a half-length down to a half-length lead as the scullers entered the final quarter. The Japanese sculler was able to pull away for an open-water victory in the final sprint, with Davison holding off Denmark's Bastian Secher for second. Arakawa clocked a 6:55.98 to win the race by nearly three seconds. Davison finished with a time of 6:58.72. In the PR1 men's single sculls, Andrew Mangan (Buffalo, N.Y./Stanford University/West Side Rowing Club/Bair Island Aquatic Center) finished fourth in the B final to take 10th-place overall. Mangan sat in fifth position before passing Mexico's Michel Munoz Malagon to move into fourth during the back half of the race. Israel's Shmuel Daniel won the race in a 9:47.23, with Spain's Javier Reja Munoz finishing second. Mangan crossed in a 10:22.29. In the women's single sculls, Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center High Performance) won her C final to finish 13th overall. Norway's Siri Eva Kristiansen jumped out to an early lead off the start, but the 2019 World Rowing Championships' bronze medalist was able to move into the top position by about a half-length as the scullers reached the 500-meter mark. Kohler used her powerful base rhythm to get separation in the second 500 meters, crossing the midway point of the race with nearly a length of open water back to Kristiansen. The American maintained that margin through the 1,500-meter mark before Kristiansen started her sprint. Kohler was able to hold off the late charge by the Norwegian sculler, finishing a half-length ahead in a 7:43.01. Kristiansen finished 1.25 seconds back in a 7:44.26. Click here for USRowing's daily coverage of the 2022 World Rowing Championships. Click here for USRowing's photo galleries. Click here for the official results on worldrowing.com. 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 Center.