Racing Underway at 2024 World Rowing Cup III in Poznan

Racing got underway Friday at World Rowing Cup III with six boats advancing to either the semifinals or finals on the first day of competition in Poznan, Poland. 

In the lightweight women’s single sculls, Audrey Boersen (West Olive, Mich./Grand Valley State University/Whitemarsh Boat Club), who served as an alternate at last year's world championships and took fifth in the event last month at World Rowing Cup II, pulled away from the field in the back half of the race to easily win the first of three heats to advance to tomorrow’s semifinals. With three to advance, Boersen got off the line in second position behind Austria’s Lara Tiefenthaler before moving into first in the second quarter of the race. Boersen walked away from the rest of the scullers over the final 1,000 meters, crossing the line in an 8:17.22. Tiefenthaler finished second in an 8:23.11, with the Netherlands’ Tosca Kettler taking third. Racing in the second heat, Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee/Cambridge Boat Club), who won a silver medal in the lightweight women’s double sculls at last year’s world championships, also advanced to tomorrow’s semifinals with a second-place finish. Jones Nabel got off the line in third position before moving into second at the halfway point. France’s Aurelie Morizot led from start-to-finish, clocking an 8:18.16 to win the race. Jones Nabel finished with a time of 8:25.51, with Finland’s Aura Forsberg finishing third.

"My goal with today's race was to comfortably advance to the semis," Boersen said. "I had the goal to win and to do it without involving a sprint at the end of the race. For me, that meant having a really solid 1,500 meters. I feel really good about what I did today and know that it's just the first one of the weekend, so there's a lot more to give tomorrow. Going into the semis, the goal is to advance and to fight for a good lane position. Ideally, that means winning the semifinal, but I know that there are fast women in my semi. I'd rather not have to fight the whole way down the course and have some left for the final, but you never know what the day will bring."

In the first heat of the lightweight men's single sculls, Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University/New York Athletic Club), who won the B final to take seventh overall at last year’s world championships, pulled away over the back half of the race to advance directly to tomorrow’s final. Austria’s Lukas Reim took the early lead ahead of Melvin and Germany’s Finn Wolter before the American moved into first as the scullers approached the 1,000-meter mark. Melvin continued to push away from Wolter, who had moved into second position, during the third 500 meters before walking away over the final stretch. Melvin won the race in a 7:30.80, finishing more than 12 seconds ahead of Wolter. Switzerland’s Jan Schaeuble won the second heat in a 7:25.30 to also advance directly to tomorrow’s final.

"I was happy with the execution being my first international race in the single this season," Melvin said. "My focus for tomorrow is to build on today's performance and to row the fastest piece I am capable of."

Racing in the first heat of the women’s single sculls, Margaret Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University/Community Rowing, Inc.) finished second to advance to tomorrow’s semifinals. With two to advance, Fellows took command of the second spot behind Australia’s Tara Rigney, who won silver in the event at the World Rowing Cup II race in Lucerne and bronze at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, during the first 500 meters. Rigney and Fellows continued to pull away from the field in the second quarter of the race and were never challenged for qualification spots. Rigney won in a 7:47.63, with Fellows taking second in a 7:56.71. The USA2 entry of Anneta Kyridou (Kalamaria Thessaloniki, Greece/Ohio State University/Next Level Rowing) also advanced to the semifinals thanks to a third-place finish in her afternoon repechage. After finishing fifth in her morning heat, Kyridou overtook Australia’s Kathryn Rowan in the final 500 meters of the first repechage to move on to the semifinals. Kyridou sat in fifth place through the 1,000-meter mark before moving into second during the third quarter of the race. She was then able to chase down Rowan for the last qualification spot. Azerbaijan’s Diana Dymchenko won in an 8:00.19, with the Netherlands’ Nika Johanna Vos taking second in an 8:00.23. Kyridou finished with a time of 8:02.84.

"I was happy to advance to the semifinals, and my focus moving forward is to continue to advance throughout the regatta," Fellows said.

While many of the U.S. Olympic boats used last month’s World Rowing Cup II as a chance to test their speed ahead of Paris, the U.S. PR3 crews that qualified for the 2024 Paralympic Games will be doing the same in Poznan. Racing in the second of two heats in the PR3 mixed double sculls, Todd Vogt (Rochester, N.Y./University of Buffalo/Portland Boat Club) and Saige Harper (Easthampton, Mass./Sacred Heart University) finished second and now will race in a repechage on Saturday. Vogt and Harper, who both won silver medals at last year’s world championships in separate events, battled France for second position the entire way down the course. With only one to advance to the final, the British crew of Annabel Caddick and Samuel Murray took the lead off the start and dominated the race, winning by more than 21 seconds in a 7:47.29. Vogt and Harper clocked an 8:08.54, pulling away from France in the final 500 meters. In the first heat, Australia’s Jed Altschwager and Nikki Ayers, who won gold at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, advanced to the final, clocking a 7:42.70 to finish 19 seconds ahead of Germany. Vogt and Harper will face India, Germany, France, and Mexico in the repechage for a second chance to advance to the final.

In the preliminary race for lanes in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain, Emelie Eldracher (Andover, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Ben Washburne (Madison, Conn./Williams College), Alex Flynn (Wilmington, Mass./Tufts University), Skylar Dahl (Minneapolis, Minn./University of Virginia), and Gemma Wollenschlaeger (St. Augustine Beach, Fla./Temple University) finished second behind the boat from Great Britain. The British boat, which has won the event 13 years in a row at the world and Olympic levels, took the early lead on France and continued to pull away for the remainder of the race. The U.S., which won silver in the event at last year’s world championships, got off the line in fourth position before moving into third at the halfway point. The U.S. passed France in the final 500 meters to take second. Great Britain won the race in a 7:14.79, with the U.S. finishing second in a 7:23.30. France took third. The three boats, along with Germany and Italy, will race again in Sunday’s final with medals on the line.

"I'm proud of the boat's unification behind our plan out there for the first race of the season," Eldracher said. "Heading into Sunday, we're going to continue to fine tune our strategy and optimize our approach."

Racing continues Saturday with the remaining repechages, semifinals, and finals in the non-Olympic and non-Paralympic boat classes. Finals in the Olympic and Paralympic boat classes will take place on Sunday. Racing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. local time on Saturday, with Sunday's racing starting at 8:10 a.m. local time. Click here for the most up-to-date schedule and results. 

The live race tracker and live audio will be available for all races on www.worldrowing.com. Live video streaming will be available on the World Rowing website on Sunday starting at 8:30 a.m. local time for the A finals of all World Rowing Cup boat classes. 

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are scheduled from August 28 to September 8, with Para rowing events beginning August 30. Rowing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place July 27-August 4.  

The full Olympic team was announced earlier this week, while the complete Paralympic team will be officially nominated by July 1. For information, updates, and athlete features, visit our Row to Paris page. 

Click here for the current rosters of the 2024 Olympic Team and 2024 Paralympic Team. 

USRowing would like to thank our national team sponsors including our Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams, Filippi Lido; our Official Apparel Provider, 776BC; our Official Partner, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., our Exclusive Supplement Supplier, Thorne HealthTech; our Official Performance Electronics Outfitter, Nielsen-Kellerman; the National Rowing Foundation; and TrainingPeaks, the Official Training and Coaching Software of USRowing's High Performance Team.