U.S. National Crews Win Princess Royal Challenge and Stonor Challenge Sunday at 2022 Henley Royal Regatta

U.S. national boats won The Princess Royal Challenge Cup and The Stonor Challenge Trophy on Sunday at the 2022 Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England.

Two-time Olympian Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) won The Princess Royal Challenge Cup, defeating Great Britain's Imogen Grant by 2.25 lengths. Kohler and Grant got off the start about even before Kohler, who won a bronze medal in the single at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, began to pull away by the Barrier timing point. Kohler established her two-length lead during the middle third of the race before cruising to the victory. The American finished with a time of 8:09. Kohler will be representing the U.S. in the women's double sculls with Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center) in September at the 2022 World Rowing Championships.

In the final of The Stoner Challenge Trophy, the U.S. lightweight women's double sculls duo of Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Cambridge Boat Club) and Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/Sarasota Crew) defeated Rowing Australia's Anneka Reardon and Lucy Coleman with a time of 7:43. A matchup of the gold and silver medalists in the lightweight double from World Rowing Cup 2 in Poznan, Poland, a couple of weeks ago, Sechser and Reckford once again wound up on top, this time by 2.25 lengths. The U.S. boat, which finished fifth in the lightweight double at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and recently qualified for the 2022 World Rowing Championships, trailed slightly through the first two timing points but used its power to take command and pull away during the final third of the race.

In the final of The Queen Mother Challenge Cup, 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) fell to the Chinese National Rowing Team crew by two lengths. China, which won the quad at both the first and second world cups earlier this year, jumped out to the early lead and continued to pull away from the U.S. boat through the middle section of the course. China crossed the finish line in a time of 6:30.

Other crews from the U.S. winning Henley titles on Sunday included California Rowing Club in the Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup, Brown University in The Island Challenge Cup, and University of Washington in The Visitors' Challenge Cup. In The Hambleden final, two-time Olympic eight gold medalist and three-time U.S. Olympian Meghan Musnicki (Ithaca College/ Naples, N.Y./California Rowing Club) teamed up with Australia's Jess Morrison, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist in the four, to easily defeat the Leander Club women's pair.

In total, USRowing had eight national boats racing this week at Henley. Coverage is available on the Henley Royal Regatta website and on USRowing.org. Complete results are available on the Henley website and race replays are 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.