Men’s and Women’s Eights Win Their Heats, Men’s Quadruple Sculls Advances

On the second day of the U23 World Championships, the men’s and women’s eights won their heats, while the men’s quadruple sculls advanced to the Semifinal. 

The men’s quadruple sculls showed off their experience with four returning national team athletes in a stacked field. Germany and Poland got out to an early lead in the first 500 meters while the U.S. crew settled into fourth. They found their footing in the second 500 meters and began to gain inches back on the top two crews. Germany took the victory in a time of 5:49.18. The Americans' time of 5:52.30 clinched their bid to the Semifinal on Saturday. 

“It’s been a lot of fun to practice and race against the four and the eight at selection camp in OKC, but it’s exciting to get to race against the top quads in the world,” said Yale’s Timmy Parsons. “We had a great time going out there and racing against other boats. We just focused on trying to execute a strong race.”

“Our plan was to get through to the Semis and now that we are in the Semis, we are focused on improving on our start,” said Yale’s John Patton. “Our third 500 meters was the fastest in our heat, so if we improve our start and commit to it, we will have a strong Semifinal.”

In the women’s eight, the U.S. was neck and neck with the Canadians in the first 500 meters. It was in the middle of 1,000 meters, the U.S. hit their stride and moved away, taking seats from the second-place crew. By the third 500 meters, the U.S. opened water on the field, crossing the finish line in a time of 6:06.53, 4.93 seconds ahead of the Canadians.

Three-time national team member Natalie Hoefer from the University of Notre Dame said “It was really good, it felt really nice and long and powerful. I’m excited to unleash everything in the Final, and let the adrenaline take us; focus on everything we have worked for and see what we can do.”

The men’s eight battled down the course with the crew from Australia. Australia had the early lead in the first 1000 meters, but the U.S. crew clawed their way back in the second half of the race. The Americans closed the gap to less than a second in the third 500 meters, and a bold and aggressive sprint helped push their bow ball ahead, crossing the line in a time of 5:31.35, 1.08 seconds ahead of Australia. 

“It was a good race, not our best start, we need to clean that up a bit,” said Syracuse University’s Beck Honebein “Everyone did a good job staying relaxed and staying composed, letting our base pace do the work.”

University of Washington’s Finn Griskauskas spoke about his first national team race. “We are a young boat, so it’s great to get the experience next to some fast crews. We are looking forward to building off of this race and continuing to learn and improve.”

The lightweight men’s double sculls finished third in their heat in a time of 6:51.75 in a strong field. Germany took first in the race. With only seven entries, the crew will not advance to the Final. 

“We ask a lot of these athletes. The turnaround from the end of their collegiate seasons to the start of camp or Trials, through selection, and then into racing at the World Championships is incredibly tight,” said Brett Gorman, Fred L. Emerson Jr. Head Coach of High Performance Pathways. “To succeed, we have to keep learning and improving throughout the championship, and both the athletes and coaches are doing an excellent job embracing the process and fighting for every inch.”

Tomorrow, the men’s pair will race in the C Final at 2:06 p.m. CSET followed by the men’s double sculls C Final at 2:18 p.m. CSET. The men’s and women’s fours compete in the Semifinals after both crews won their heats. The women’s race begins at 3:57 p.m. CSET, with the men following at 4:09 p.m. CSET.

All races are streaming here. A detailed racing schedule can be found here(all times are in Central European Summer Time).

USRowing would like to thank and acknowledge key partners HUDSON, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Under 19 and Under 23 National Team. Through the partnership, HUDSON supplies racing shells for selection and training domestically, with matched shells provided internationally for racing.