Plihal, O’Connor Win 2022 Lotman Challenge; Moore, Gernaat Victorious in Blackwall Duling Challenge

Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION) won this year's U.S. Lotman Challenge, while Molly Moore (Indianapolis, Ind./Harvard University/Community Rowing, Inc.) and Russell Gernaat (Redwood City, Calif./Lake Casitas Rowing Club) won the Blackwall Duling Challenge as part of the Gold Cup Challenge Regatta held October 29 on the Cooper River in Camden County, N.J.

This year's U.S. Lotman Challenge featured a bigger field, which included time trials, in order to draw a larger contingent of athletes. On the men's side, Plihal, who raced in the men's quadruple sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, defeated Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), who raced in the men's eight at this year's world championships, by just over one second to claim the top prize. Plihal won the race in a 2:33.931, finishing 1.079 seconds ahead of Carlson. Carlson narrowly edged Plihal in the time trial.

On the women's side, O'Conner, who finished second in the women's single at the 2022 Senior National Team Trials II, bested two-time Olympian Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center High Performance), who raced the single at the world championships, by 2.97 seconds to earn the victory. Kohler won the time trial, with O'Connor finishing third, but the ARION sculler was able to take the win in the final in a 2:53.917.

The Blackwall Duling Challenge featured a time-adjusted start format, so that PR1, PR2, and PR3 athletes got the chance to compete against each other. Moore, who raced in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain in Racice, won the women's event by more than 10 seconds over Madison Eberhard (Buffalo, N.Y./West Side Rowing Club). Moore finished with a time of 3:48.696, with Eberhard crossing in a 3:59.178. Eberhard, who did not compete internationally this year, was a member of the 2019 World Championships squad.

Gernaat, a Tokyo 2020 Paralympian who raced in the PR2 men's single sculls at this year's world championships, won the men's race in a 4:01.447, with Andrew Mangan (Buffalo, N.Y./Stanford University/West Side Rowing Club/Bair Island Aquatic Center) finishing 1.216 seconds behind. Mangan made his first national team this year, racing in the PR1 men's single sculls.

This year's prize pool for the Lotman Challenge and Blackwall Duling Challenge were equal, with rowers earning $8,000 for first place, $6,000 for second, $4,000 for third, and $2,000 for fourth place in both the men's and women's events.

In addition to the Lotman and Blackwall Duling challenges, the Hoffman Challenge for women's and men's junior scullers were won by Molly McDonnell and Sam Subramaniam, respectively. The Gold Cup races, which did not include any U.S. athletes this year, were won by New Zealand's Emma Twigg, the reigning Olympic champion, on the women's side and The Netherlands' Melvin Twellaar, who won the silver medal in the men's single at this year's world championships, on the men's side.

About the Gold Challenge Cup

The Philadelphia Gold Challenge Cup – Philadelphia Gold Cup race was commissioned by the Schuylkill Navy in 1920 to honor the undisputed world champion in single sculls rowing. It pitted the world's best amateur male single scullers against each other in a sprint race on the Schuylkill River. John B. Kelly Sr., of Philadelphia's Vesper Boat Club, was the first recipient. In the mid-1960s, the competition ceased and the trophy disappeared. In 1996 after a long absence, the trophy was rediscovered and thanks to The Gold Challenge Cup Foundation the event was reintroduced to its rightful prominence in 2011. Since its revival, the competition has grown to include the world's top female scullers, Para/adaptive athletes, and youth scullers.