Jul 02, 2022
Team USA
Three U.S. National Boats Advance on Saturday at 2022 Henley Royal Regatta
Three U.S. national boats advanced to the finals on Saturday at the 2022 Henley Royal Regatta at Henley-on-Thames, England. Crews advanced in The Princess Royal Challenge Cup, The Stonor Challenge Trophy, and The Queen Mother Challenge Cup.
Two-time Olympian Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) advanced to the final of The Princess Royal Challenge Cup, defeating Ukraine's Diana Dymchenko, rowing for Rowing Club Baku, Azerbaijan, by 2.75 lengths. Dymchenko took a length advantage thanks to a strong start and continued to lead Kohler with about 700 meters to go. That's when the American, who won the bronze medal in the single at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, upped her rating. Kohler was able to row through Dymchenko with about 500 meters to go and pulled away for the victory, finishing with a time of 9:10. Kohler will take on Great Britain's Imogen Grant in tomorrow's final.
In the semifinals of The Stoner Challenge Trophy, Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/Sarasota Crew) was back in the boat after missing yesterday's race due to illness. Reckford and partner Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Cambridge Boat Club), who finished fifth in the lightweight women's double sculls at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and recently qualified to represent the U.S. in the event at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, used a strong move in the middle of the race to record a dominant win over France's open weight double of Elodie Ravera Scaramozzino and Helene Lefebvre. The two crews were about even through the first 500 meters before Sechser and Reckford began to pull away, finishing with a time of 8:32 to win by four lengths. The U.S. tandem will take on Rowing Australia's Anneka Reardon and Lucy Coleman in tomorrow's final.
In The Queen Mother Challenge Cup semifinals, the U.S. 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), Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville/Texas Rowing Center), and Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania/Vesper Boat Club) came back during the second half of the race to defeat New Zealand by 2.25 lengths. The New Zealand boat was strong off the line, leading at both the Barrier and Fawley timing points, but the American crew began to reel them in as the boats moved into the back half of the course. New Zealand tried to respond, but the U.S. used its momentum to pull away for the victory in a time of 6.47. The U.S. will face China in the final.
In The Princess Grace Challenge Cup, the women's quadruple sculls crew of Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center), Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club), and Margaret Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University/Cambridge Boat Club) fell to the Rowing Australia crew by two lengths in this morning's semifinals. Rowing Australia finished with a time of 7.42 to earn the victory.
In The Double Sculls Challenge Cup, Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center) and Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania/Texas Rowing Center), who will represent the U.S. in the lightweight men's double sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, lost their semifinal race to Matt Haywood and George Bourne from Nottingham Rowing Club and The Tideway Scullers' School. Haywood and Bourne finished with a time of 7:44 to easily win the race.
In the semifinals of The Grand Challenge Cup, the U.S. boat of Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club), Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club), Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wis./University of Wisconsin/California Rowing Club), Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University/California Rowing Club), Michael Clougher (Canton, Mass./Connecticut College/Penn AC), Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), and coxswain Colette Lucas-Conwell (Palo Alto, Calif./University of Virginia/California Rowing Club) fell to the British boat racing as Oxford Brookes University & Leander. The British crew, which won the first World Rowing Cup in Belgrade by 10 seconds and includes four members of the eight that won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, took the lead off the start and then held the U.S. boat at bay by roughly a length through the remainder of the course. At the finish, the British crew crossed about seven seats ahead of the U.S. in a time of 6:01.
In the semifinals of The Remenham Challenge Cup, the U.S. crew of Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/The Ohio State University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION), and coxswain Coral Kasden (San Diego, Calif./ University of California, Santa Barbara/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) came up two-thirds of a length short of the British crew representing Imperial College, London & Leander Club. The British boat took the early lead and held a length advantage through the first third of the race. The U.S. cut the lead to just about a half-length coming into the final stretch of the race, but the British boat was able to stave off the challenge and win by six seats in a 6:45.
In total, USRowing has eight national boats racing this week. In addition, many other crews based in the United States from junior, collegiate, and club programs also are racing at Henley. Finals will take place on Sunday. The regatta features more than 300 head-to-head races in categories ranging from junior to open.
Event coverage is available on the Henley Royal Regatta website and on USRowing.org. Results will be available on the Henley website and live streaming will be available on the Henley Royal Regatta YouTube Channel.
As the Official USRowing Partner: U.S. National Team – 2022 Henley Royal Regatta, the Head Of The Charles Regatta (HOCR) is providing substantial financial support for the U.S. National Team trip. Fred Schoch, Executive Director of the Head Of The Charles, is joining the U.S. National Team in the UK and is serving as an honorary U.S. coach during Henley.
