Michelle Sechser Crowned World Champion; U.S. Men’s Eight Take Bronze

Michelle Sechser capped off a dominant week by capturing gold in the lightweight women’s sculls. The men’s eight delivered a gritty performance to claim bronze, while the women’s eight secured a fifth-place finish. The PR3 mixed four with coxswain narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth overall. Justin Schmidt wrapped up his competition with a fourth-place finish in the B Final, ranking 10th overall.

After representing thirteen national teams and competing in two Olympic Games, Michelle Sechser can finally call herself a World Champion in the lightweight women’s single sculls. Mexico took an early lead in the first 500 meters, with Sechser close behind. Rowing with confidence through the middle of the race, she began reeling in the leader stroke by stroke in the third 500. By the final quarter of the race, Sechser had pushed her bow ahead, opening up more than a second on the field before the last 30 strokes.

China mounted a furious sprint in the closing meters, but Sechser’s commanding lead held firm as she crossed the line for gold. This victory marks Sechser’s fourth World Championship medal — and her first gold.

"I was really excited, I love this boat class," said Michelle Sechser, "It's so nice to kind of, for better or worse, you know, your whole crew. And it was a really fun journey since that selection camp, to get to hop in the single and have this dream that I could be on the top step of the podium at a world championship and sing the national anthem as they raised the US flag. It's cheesy, but it really meant a lot. There are a lot of fun races I've won, and this has just always been a bucket list that in the single to be able to be on that top step felt really special."

The men’s eight final began with drama after a false start forced the crews to line up a second time. When the race got underway, the Americans exploded off the line, surging into second place in the opening strokes. The Dutch, 2024 Olympic silver medalists, led through the early stages, but the U.S. stayed within striking distance. At the halfway point, the Americans were locked in a three-way battle with the reigning Olympic champions and Australia for the remaining podium spots. In a courageous third 500 meters, the U.S. crew pushed clear of Australia and kept their bow ahead of Great Britain.

The final sprint turned into a stroke-for-stroke duel with the British, neither crew giving an inch. In a dramatic photo finish, Great Britain edged the Americans by just 0.16 seconds, securing a hard-fought bronze medal for the U.S. The crew, Rachel Rane, Pieter Quinton, Gus Rodriguez, Billy Bender, Madison Molitor, Alexander Hedge, Michael Herman, Jacob Hudgins, and Christian Tabash, delivered a performance that combined experience and fresh talent. Five athletes returned from the Olympic squad, with Quinton and Tabash adding another bronze to their Olympic medal haul. Molitor, Herman, and Hudgins earned their first senior medals in an impressive debut.

"It was a good race," said Christian Tabash. "We haven't had the longest campaign together, and what I'm really pleased with is, every time we have identified a weak spot or an area of growth, the next time we come about it, we execute what we intended to do, and I just think that just shows the level of maturity among the athletes, level of dedication and commitment, which is great for a four year campaign. This is just Year One. We left it all out there, like I think we raced our best possible race. We're very happy to come away with hardware. "

Gus Rodriguez added, "We're hard workers, every guy's putting in the work. We stayed very healthy in this whole campaign.  And we had a lot of adversity, I would say, but we came out of it closer."

The women’s eight delivered a fiercely contested race from start to finish. The Dutch charged out to an early lead, while the Americans stayed right in the mix, fighting stroke for stroke to stay within reach of the podium. At the halfway mark, the U.S. sat in fourth, just inches behind third place. The third 500 meters proved decisive as Germany and Great Britain surged ahead, opening a gap on the field. Refusing to back down, the American crew, Olympian Nina Castagna, Megan Lee, Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson, Etta Carpender, Anna Jensen, Mia Levy, Olympian Charlotte Buck, Kaitlyn Kynast, and Hannah Heideveld launched a determined sprint over the final stretch.

Despite their powerful push, the crew crossed the line in fifth with a time of 6:16.09. With five athletes making their senior team debut, the result marks an encouraging sign of progress for this young American squad and a glimpse of their potential in the years to come.

The PR3 mixed four with coxswain delivered a thrilling performance in what proved to be one of the tightest contests the event has ever seen, with four crews entering the final 500 meters with an opportunity to take bronze. After settling into fifth in the first 500 meters, the crew dug in through the middle of the race, matching the pace of the field and keeping themselves within striking distance. In the final 500 meters, the Americans, Paralympian Emelie Eldracher, Paralympian Ben Washburne, Max Allemeier, Annabelle Miller, and Eli Margolin unleashed a powerful sprint, charging hard toward the line and closing rapidly on the medal positions. Their push came just a fraction too late; they finished fourth in a time of 7:05.59, just .61 seconds off the podium. 

Justin Schmidt capped off his regatta with a gritty performance in the B Final of the lightweight men’s single. After a controlled start, he found himself locked in a fierce battle with Kazakhstan through the middle 1000 meters. Showing determination and composure, Schmidt matched every move, trading strokes all the way to the line. He crossed in fourth place with a time of 7:11.72, ranking 10th overall, an impressive result in a tightly packed field, with just under two seconds separating second through fourth.

Tonight's events are the closing events of the World Championships. Beginning with the mixed events, the mixed double sculls at 10:05 p.m. and the mixed eight at 10:25 p.m., Lauren O'Connor will race in the B Final in the women's single sculls at 1:15 a.m. The mixed events finals will begin at 1:35 a.m. Watch on Overnght or on World Rowing. Results and schedule can be found here. 

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior 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 Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Centers.