Three Crews Advance from Repechages on Tuesday at the 2022 World Rowing Championships

Three U.S. crews advanced out of the repechages on Tuesday at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic. The lightweight women's single sculls and women's four advanced to the semifinals, while the PR3 four with coxswain moved on to the final. In addition, the women's eight won its race for lanes ahead of Sunday's medal race.

Lightweight women's single sculler Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee/Cambridge Boat Club), who finished fourth in her heat on Sunday, came back to win her repechage to advance to Thursday's semifinals. With two to advance, Jones Nabel got off the line in third position behind Switzerland's Eline Rol and South Africa's Kirsten McCann. Jones Nabel and the South African began to close the gap on Rol during the second 500 meters, with McCann taking the lead just after the halfway point of the race. Jones Nabel overtook Rol during the third 500 meters and set her focus on McCann. At the line, Jones Nabel was able to pull past McCann and win the race by 0.41 seconds. Jones Nabel finished with a time of 7:42.82, with McCann clocking a 7:43.23. Rol finished third.

"The nice thing about a progression at the world championships is that it's a long progression," Jones Nabel said. "In this case, I'll have four full races, so each time using the things that went well and the things you want to improve on to take a step forward. Today, I was really happy with what I did well, so I'll try to repeat that, and then find little ways to improve as the week goes on, using each time down the course to be a little bit better to have the best race possible in the final."

With only a six-boat field, the women's eight of Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame/USRowing Training Center-Princeton/University of Minnesota), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), and coxswain Hannah Broadland (Sacramento, Calif./San Diego State University/San Diego Rowing Club/USRowing Training Center-Princeton) won its preliminary race for lanes to claim the top seed in Sunday's final. The U.S. was fifth off the line but had moved into second position at the midway point of the race, just under a second behind the Canadians. The American crew overtook Canada in the third 500 meters before pulling away in the final stretch. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:10.91, with Canada clocking a 6:12.72.

"We were really led off well by Maddie and Claire having such a great heat (in the pair), and we really just wanted to go out and have a great race and practice our racing as a crew," Bruggeman said. "We've made an intention to really enjoy all of the strokes that we get to have together as a boat because they are few and far between with the doubling up. We're just really happy to be here, and I'm really happy to be back on the squad with my teammates again, who are doing an amazing job racing."

The lightweight women's pair of Solveig Imsdahl (Eutin, Germany/Cornell University/Vesper Boat Club) and Elaine Tierney (West Chester, Pa./Temple University/Vesper Boat Club) finished second behind Italy in their race for lanes. The Italian crew of Maria Serboni and Samantha Premerl took a commanding lead in the first 500 meters, with Imsdahl and Tierney settling into second position. The U.S. used a sprint in the final 500 meters to close the gap, finishing a strong second. Italy finished with a time of 7:38.46 to win the race, with the Americans finishing just over a second behind in a 7:39.79. Brazil finished 10 seconds back in third. The four crews will race again Friday for the medals.

"For today, we just wanted to stay internal and just practice doing a full 2k with other boats next to us," Imsdahl said. "We just wanted to go out and do what we've been doing all week – just have a solid piece, nothing more, nothing less. We definitely have more speed for Friday. Our start was not as spicy as it can be."

"We're used to practicing on our own, or with other people, but not necessarily other pairs, so we are used to focusing on ourselves, and we just wanted to do that today and not get distracted by everything – just have our own good race," Tierney said.

The women's four of Vicky Opitz (Middleton, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center-Princeton), Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/University of Washington), Erin Boxberger (Shady Shores, Texas/University of Notre Dame/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), and Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/The Ohio State University/USRowing Training Center-Princeton) secured its spot in Thursday's semifinals by finishing third in the repechage. The U.S. boat got off the line in third behind New Zealand and France, with Canada just over a second back of the U.S. crew in fourth. Canada tried to stay in contact, but the U.S. boat pulled away from the Canadians during the middle 1,000 meters. New Zealand won the race in a 6:38.08. The French boat finished in a 6:40.72, with the U.S. clocking a 6:42.00.

"It was a good step from what we did the other day," Opitz said. "Obviously, we were hoping to keep improving on what we did. We made a couple of small tweaks, and we're going to keep building off that for our next race."

"We had some really solid selection pieces, which were very long and very close to 2k, and then we had a little regroup in the middle, so we're trying to just find speed that we've had before – doing the race, advance, and then starting with a clean slate," Boxberger said.

Racing in the first of two heats, the men's eight of Alex Karwoski (Moultonborough, N.H./Cornell University), Nick Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Yale University), Michael Clougher (Canton, Mass./Connecticut College/Penn Athletic Club), Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wis./University of Wisconsin/California Rowing Club), Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), and coxswain Jimmy Catalano (Greenwich Conn./University of Wisconsin) finished third and will now race in the repechages on Friday. The U.S. crew got off the line in fourth position before moving into third during the second quarter of the race. Great Britain took the lead in the first 500 meters and was able to keep second-place Romania at bay, using a strong third 500 to get some separation. At the line, the British crew crossed in a 5:31.29, with Romania taking second. The U.S. finished in a 5:35.88.

Racing in the repechage of the PR3 mixed four with coxswain, the new U.S. lineup of Molly Moore (Indianapolis, Ind./Harvard University/Community Rowing, Inc.), Alex Flynn (Wilmington, Mass./Tufts University), Andrew Wigren (Providence, R.I./Hobart College), Saige Harper (Easthampton, Mass./Sacred Heart University), and coxswain Emilie Eldracher (Andover, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology) finished fourth to advance to Saturday's final. The crew settled into fourth position in the opening 500 meters and had no difficulty advancing ahead of Spain and Mexico. Germany led from the start, finishing with a time of 7:17.13. France finished second, followed by Italy. The U.S. crew finished with a time of 7:30.56.

"I thought it was a good piece," Wigren said. "Most importantly, we built off our race yesterday. I felt like we were stronger in the middle (1,000 meters) and that was a goal we had going in, so the crew really wanted to make a point of doing that, and I felt like we executed well. It's a competitive field, and it's our first time here as a crew, but I felt like we took a step in the right direction today, and we'll work to build on that."

The men's quadruple sculls crew of Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Jonathan Kirkegaard (Philadelphia, Pa./Purdue University/Texas Rowing Center High Performance), Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville/Texas Rowing Center High Performance), and Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania/Vesper Boat Club) finished fifth in the second of two repechages and will race in the C final for overall places 13-17. China led through the midway point of the race, with Norway and New Zealand close behind. Estonia and the U.S. sat just off the pace. During the third 500 meters, Estonia began working its way through the field, taking the lead as the crews reached the last quarter of the race. The U.S. stayed in contact with the top crews through the 1,500 meter-mark but were unable to work themselves into a qualifying position. Estonia won the race in a 5:46.01, with China holding off Norway for second place. The U.S. finished just behind New Zealand, clocking a time of 5:51.86.

In the PR1 men's single sculls, Andrew Mangan (Buffalo, N.Y./Stanford University/West Side Rowing Club/Bair Island Aquatic Center) finished sixth in the first of two heats and now will race in tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance to the semifinals, Great Britain's Benjamin Pritchard took the early lead off the start before Ukraine's Roman Polianskyi, the reigning Paralympic champion, moved into the top position about 500 meters into the race. Polianskyi continued to lead Pritchard at the midway point by less than a second, as the two scullers walked away from the rest of the field. At the finish, Polianskyi crossed in a 9:24.11, more than 12 seconds ahead of Pritchard. Mangan rowed in sixth place the entire way down the course, finishing in a 10:32.45.

The U.S. will have four boats racing in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

In the men's single sculls, Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) won his heat on Sunday and will now race in the fourth of four quarterfinals against scullers from Spain, Japan, Norway, China, and South Africa with the top three advancing to Friday's semifinals. Norway's Kjetil Borch is a two-time world champion in the event and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist.

The lightweight men's double sculls crew of Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania/Texas Rowing Center High Performance) and Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center High Performance) chased down Turkey in the final 500 meters of its heat to grab a qualification spot in the quarterfinals. With the top three advancing to the semis, Liu and Heese will take on boats from Australia, Austria, France, Ireland, and Spain in the third of four quarterfinals. Ireland's Fintan McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan are the reigning Olympic, World, and European champions in the event.

Jimmy McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Delaware/Texas Rowing Center High Performance) advanced to Wednesday's quarterfinals of the lightweight men's single sculls by winning his repechage on Monday afternoon. McCullough will take on scullers from Denmark, Algeria, Italy, Bulgaria, and Ireland in the fourth of four quarterfinals, with the top three moving on to the semifinals. Italy's Gabriel Soares won the silver medal at the European championships last month.

In the men's double sculls, Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) and Thomas Phifer (New York, N.Y./Middlebury College/Penn Athletic Club) moved on to the quarterfinals thanks to a fourth-place finish in their heat. The duo will take on crews from Hungary, Norway, France, Ireland, and Uzbekistan in the fourth of four quarterfinals, needing a top-three finish to advance. France's Hugo Boucheron and Matthieu Androdias are the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions.

Semifinals get underway on Thursday, while the medal races will take place starting on Friday. More than 900 athletes from 65 countries are scheduled to compete in the eight-day regatta. The U.S. has entered the most boats with 25, followed by Italy with 23.

Click here for USRowing's daily coverage of the 2022 World Rowing Championships. Click here for USRowing's photo galleries. Click here for the official schedule, heat sheets, and results on worldrowing.com.

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 Center.