U.S. Off to Strong Start at World Rowing Cup 2 in Poland

The U.S. got off to a strong start on the first day of racing at World Rowing Cup 2 in Poznan, Poland, with four crews winning their heats.

Racing got underway on Thursday afternoon with heats in the men's and women's single sculls and pairs, and U.S. men's single sculler Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) got the U.S. off to a strong start by winning the opening race of the day by more than four seconds over Denmark's Bastian Secher to advance to Saturday's semifinals. Davison, a 12-time national team member at the U19, U23, and senior levels, raced in the men's eight at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but is no stranger to the single having raced it at four World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Davison clocked a 6:53.81, with Secher finishing in a 6:57.94. France's Matthieu Androdias posted the fastest time of the afternoon, winning the second heat in a 6:52.96, just 0.05 seconds ahead of Monaco's Quentin Antognelli.

The U.S. women's pairs both won their heats to advance to Sunday's final. Racing in the first heat, the crew of Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) and Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) recorded the fastest time of the day, crossing the line with a time of 7:00.59 to finish just over three seconds ahead of The Netherlands' crew of Veronique Meester and Ymkje Clevering. With just one to advance to the final, Collins and Wanamaker, who were boatmates in the four at last year's Olympics, grabbed the early lead before the Dutch boat cut the gap to 0.23 seconds at the midway point of the race. But the U.S. duo responded in the third 500 to increase its lead to over a second and then pulled away from the Dutch crew over the final 500 meters. Collins and Wanamaker finished with a time of 7:00.59, with The Netherlands finishing in a 7:03.85.

In the second heat, the U.S. boat of Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/The Ohio State University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) and Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania/USRowing Training Center- Princeton) tracked down The Netherlands' boat of Maartje Damen and Dieuwertje Den Besten over the back half of the race to win by nearly four seconds. Germany got off the line in first before the Dutch crew moved into the top position during the second quarter of the race, with the U.S. close behind. In the third 500 meters, Baker and Salmons, who raced in the eight at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, inched ahead of The Netherlands before walking away in the final quarter of the race. Baker and Salmons finished with a time of 7:16.55, with the Dutch crew finishing in a 7:20.21.

The U.S. also had two boats racing in the men's pair, with the crews drawing each other in the second of three heats. With the top two to advance to the semifinals, the USA1 boat of Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club) and Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club), who were both part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic roster, sat just behind the crew from Moldova through the midway point of the race before putting down a strong move in the third 500 meters to take a two-second lead. The Moldovan crew made a charge over the final 500 meters to try to track down the Americans, but Best and Grady were able to hold on to win by just less than a second. Best and Grady crossed with a time of 6:28.83 to Moldova's 6:29.79 and will now race in Saturday's semifinals.

The USA2 crew of Michael Clougher (Canton, Mass./Connecticut College/Penn AC) and Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University/California Rowing Club) got off the line in fifth before moving into fourth position during the second half of the race. Clougher and LeRoux finished with a time of 6:34.98 and now will race in tomorrow's repechage for the chance to advance to the semis.

In the women's single sculls, Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University/Boston Rowing Federation) finished fifth in her heat and will now race in tomorrow's repechages. Racing in the first of three heats, Fellows dropped to fifth off the line and was unable to get back on terms with the top three scullers, who moved directly to the semifinals. The Netherlands' Karolien Florijn won the race in a 7:24.77, with her teammate, Lisa Scheenaard, finishing second in a 7:33.64. Australia's Tara Rigney finished third in a 7:36.11. Fellows finished with a time of 7:39.65.

The remaining 10 U.S. crews will race their heats tomorrow. Semifinals and finals in non-Olympic and non-Paralympic events will be held Saturday, with finals in the Olympic and Paralympic boat classes taking place on Sunday. Click here to see the event preview for a complete U.S. world cup roster.

By virtue of winning their events at USRowing's National Selection Regattas earlier this year, seven crews have the opportunity to secure spots on the 2022 World Championships' roster in their respective events here in Poland. These boats will need to finish in the top six in Poznan to earn the right to be named to the team. This list includes Ben Davison, men's single sculls; Kevin Cardno and Jonathan Kirkegaard, men's double sculls; Kara Kohler and Sophia Vitas, women's double sculls; Zachary Heese and Jasper Liu, lightweight men's double sculls; Michelle Sechser and Molly Reckford, lightweight women's double sculls; Justin Best and Michael Grady, men's pair; and Claire Collins and Madeleine Wanamaker, women's pair.

For the remaining crews, Poznan is an opportunity to test their speed against international competition prior to the start of selection camp and national team trials later this summer.

Full event coverage, including heat sheets and results, is available on WorldRowing.com.