Seven U.S. Crews to Race Heats on Sunday at 2023 World Rowing Championships

The U.S. will have seven boats racing in heats on Sunday, the opening day of competition at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

Racing gets underway in the men's and women's single sculls, men's and women's lightweight single sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, men's pair, and men's double sculls at the Ada Ciganlija regatta course on Sava Lake.

In total, the U.S. will have 22 boats competing this week in Belgrade. In addition to world championships being on the line, the regatta is the first opportunity for countries to qualify boats for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In the men's single sculls, Eliot Putnam (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University/New York Athletic Club) will be making his senior world championships' debut in what is a 47-boat field. Putnam will take on scullers from Hungary, New Zealand, Azerbaijan, Libya, and The Netherlands in the sixth of eight heats. Dutch sculler Simon van Dorp finished fourth last year in the quadruple sculls, while New Zealand's Thomas Mackintosh finished third in the single at the 2003 World Rowing Cup III. The top two finishers in each heat will advance to the quarterfinals.

In the women's single sculls, 10-time national team member Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) returns to the event. The 2019 World Rowing Championships' bronze medalist finished 13th last year, but she was back on the medal stand earlier this summer, winning bronze at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II in Varese, Italy. Kohler will take on scullers representing Slovenia, Peru, Switzerland, and Individual Neutral Athletes in the fifth of six heats. The top three finishers will move on to the quarterfinals.

In the lightweight men's single sculls, Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University/New York Athletic Club) will be racing at his first senior world championships. Melvin won gold in the lightweight single at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Sarasota, Fla. He will take on scullers from Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Iraq in the third of five heats. Switzerland's Andri Struzina reached the medal stand at all three world cups earlier this summer, including a victory at World Rowing Cup III. The top four finishers will move on to the quarterfinals.

Lightweight women's single sculler Sophia Luwis (McLean, Va./The College of William & Mary/Whitemarsh Boat Club), who won a gold medal at World Rowing Cup III and a silver medal at World Rowing Cup II earlier this summer, will be racing at her first world championships having missed last year's regatta due to injury. Luwis will face off against Switzerland, New Zealand, Italy, and Croatia in the third of four heats. The top two finishers will advance directly to the semifinals.

The lightweight men's double sculls duo of Jimmy McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Delaware/Texas Rowing Center) and Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center) will be making its world championships' debut in Belgrade. Heese raced the event at last year's world championships, while McCullough raced in the lightweight single sculls. Racing in the second of five heats, the duo will take on Italy, Austria, Greece, and Turkey. Italy's Stefano Oppo, who won silver at last year's world championships, is back with a new partner this season in Gabriel Soares. The top four finishers move on to the quarterfinals.

Senior national team rookies Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash./University of Washington/Seattle Scullers/Penn AC) and William Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College) will be racing in the fourth of five heats in the men's pair. Olson and Bender will take on China, Romania, Czech Republic, and Individual Neutral Athletes in their opening race. Romania's Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan won the world title last year. The top four finishers in each heat go on to the quarterfinals.

In the men's double sculls, Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) and Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) came together after the 2023 Winter Speed Order this past March, having raced in separate boats in 2022. Davison, a 14-time national team member across the under 19, under 23, and senior levels, finished eighth in the single sculls at last year's world championships, while Koszyk, a two-time team member, finished seventh in the double. The duo won silver at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II, their first international race together. On Sunday, they will take on Peru, France, Ireland, Poland, and Great Britain in the fourth of five heats. France's Hugo Boucheron, reigning Olympic and world champion in the event, is racing with a new partner this year, Valentin Onfroy. The top four finishers will advance directly to the quarterfinals.

Heats will continue through Tuesday, with quarterfinals taking place on Wednesday. Semifinals get underway on Thursday, while the medal races will take place starting on Friday. Nearly 1,000 athletes from 74 delegations are scheduled to compete. Italy has entered the most boats with 24, followed by Germany with 23.

The live race tracker will be available for all races on www.worldrowing.com. Live video streaming will be available on the World Rowing website for all eight days of competition (local restrictions apply). Video streaming will start five minutes before the first race.

Click here for USRowing's daily coverage of the 2023 World Rowing Championships. Click here for USRowing's photo galleries. Click here for the official schedule, heat sheets, and results on worldrowing.com. Follow along with the U.S. National Team at the 2023 World Rowing Championships by using the hashtags #WorldRowingChamps and #WRCHBelgrade.

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 Centers.