U.S. Wins Four Medals Saturday at 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships

The U.S. won gold medals in the women's four and women's eight and silver medals in the men's single sculls and men's eight to highlight Saturday's racing at the 2022 World Rowing Under 19 & Under 23 Championships on Lake Varese in Varese, Italy.

With the under 23 events wrapping up on Saturday, the U.S. won seven total medals over the two days of finals including three golds, three silvers, and one bronze. The U.S. ranked second in the World Rowing medal standings behind Italy and third in the total medal count behind Italy and Germany.

The women's four of Caitlin Esse (Fairfield, Conn./University of Texas), Anna Jensen (Midland, Mich./University of Texas), Fran Raggi (Maitland, Fla./University of Texas), and Kaitlin Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas) won the gold medal by a length of open water over Great Britain in Saturday's final.

"Coming into it, you can never really expect how you are going to feel sitting on the start line, but being at this race this summer with a boat of people we're with all year long, there's just a sense of comfort and trust sitting on the start line," Esse said. "It's unparalleled. There are no other girls that I can look forward at and just feel at peace in such an intense moment. That felt really special."

The British crew used a strong start to take an early lead over the American crew, but the U.S. boat was able to push its bowball ahead about 750 meters into the race. The Americans held just over a half-second lead before taking a move at the 1,250 to pull away from the rest of the field. Heading into the final quarter of the race, the U.S. boat had established an open-water lead and cruised to a 5.76-second victory.

"We were a little bit down at the 500, but like Caitlin said, we have that trust and that confidence, all being from Texas. We didn't panic, and we just trusted each other and our raceplan. We knew we could find that second gear in the second half of the race," said Jensen, who gets to celebrate her 20th birthday today with the victory.

The U.S. finished with a time of 6:38.12, with Great Britain crossing in a 6:43.88 to win the silver medal. Australia won the bronze medal in a 6:46.76.

"It was a special opportunity this summer that the straight four was a trials' boat because it gave us the ability to take something that was already special at Texas and make it even more special for the U.S.," Esse said. "I'm filled with joy that I got to do this with three of my Texas teammates. It was a really great experience."

Forty minutes later, it was the U.S. women's eight dominating their competition. The crew of Hannah Heideveld (New Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers University), Sophia Hahn (Braselton, Ga./Yale University), Maddie Moore (Naples, Fla./Yale University), Camille VanderMeer (Elmira, N.Y./Princeton University), Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Yale University), Lanie Nitsch (McAllen, Texas/University of Texas), Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif./Stanford University), Isabella Battistoni (Seattle, Wash./Stanford University), and coxswain Rachel Rane (Glencoe, Ill./University of Texas) grabbed the early lead and was up by nearly two seconds over Great Britain just 500 meters into the race. The crew continued to increase its advantage during the second 500 meters, pushing out to an eight-seat lead at the 1,000-meter mark. The U.S. continued to use its base power to pull away from the field in the third 500 meters, taking open water on the British boat.

"We were up at the start, which for us is kind of unexpected," Hahn said. "From the first heats, we knew that GB was going to be really close to us. I think that really got us up and pumping, where we were like, 'We got this.' All the nerves went away, and we really came together. Then at the 1,250, we really focused on that move in practice here at the course, and we really executed it well. That was really awesome to just go down the line with so many amazing women. It's pretty cool."

At the line, The U.S. had won by nearly five seconds, clocking a 6:23.03 to take home the gold medal. Great Britain won the silver medal in a 6:27.81, with Germany claiming the bronze medal in a 6:31.20.

"The confidence brought us through," Rane said. "We knew we had the fitness. We were expecting a tight race between us and GB, but at our boat meeting last night, we said, 'If we're up, let's just not make it by a seat. Let's just go for it – all the money in the basket and just cash out.'"

Making his Under 23 National Team debut, men's single sculler Isaiah Harrison (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) brought home a silver medal behind Germany's Jonas Gelsen.

"This regatta, we tried to race really intelligently," Harrison said. "We tried to pick and plan and conserve energy. Heading into this last race, I had (a) favorable lane on the inside with the (crosswind) from the shore side. I just started racing. I hit a base rate and then tried bringing it up as much as I could in the last bit. I'm awestruck that I've been this blessed to do this. It's so exciting, and I'm so grateful."

Harrison, who won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships, took the early lead over Italy's Gennaro di Mauro and continued to build on his advantage through the second 500 meters. During the third quarter of the race, Gelsen edged passed the American to move into first. While Harrison tried to respond over the final 500 meters, Gelsen was able to extend his margin and claim the gold medal. Harrison crossed comfortably in second, with Bulgaria's Emil Neykov taking the bronze medal.

"That's the biggest thing that I'm blow away by," said Harrison about medaling at the elevated level. "I had no idea what the competition would be like. My initial goal was just the A final, and I didn't even know what that would be like. Coming in, I was so excited to make it through yesterday, and this race was just kind of a pay-off race. Every time I would think about it the past 12 hours, it was just a matter of, 'Okay, for this season of racing – all the work I've done in the past year – I have one more start, one more pass through the 500, one more sprint at the end. This is it. This is where the rubber hits the road.' I'm just so grateful and so happy that everything worked out like it has."

In the last race of the day, the U23 men's eight made it four medals in four opportunities for the American squad on Saturday. The crew of Kai Hoite (Berkeley, Calif./Brown University), Alexander Abuhoff (Montclair, N.J./Northeastern University), Adam Campain (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cornell University), Charles Fargo (Winnetka, Ill./Brown University), Miles Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Dartmouth College), Jacob Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Dartmouth College), James Wright (Philadelphia, Pa./Stanford University), Will Legenzowski (Vista, N.Y./Brown University), and coxswain Jack DiGiovanni (Pittsford, N.Y./Brown University) sprinted past Australia in the final 400 meters to claim the silver medal behind Great Britain. Australia got out to the early lead, with the British boat in second and the U.S. in third. Great Britain took over the lead in the second quarter of the race and continued to move away from Australia in the third 500 meters. The U.S. used the fastest final 500 meters to chase down the Aussies but couldn't track down Great Britain. The British crew won the gold medal in a 5:51.71, with the U.S. finishing in a 5:53.97. Australia secured the bronze medal in a 5:54.90.

"We went in just with the idea that we really wanted to execute," Legenzowski said. "We knew that GB and Australia were going to be fast, so our goal was to stick with whoever was leading for the first 1,250 and really wind it up in the end. We were a little bit down off both, but we were just super gritty through the middle of the race, taking big strokes. We brought the rate up and went right through Australia. We didn't win, but it was the best piece we've had, and I'm just really proud of how we executed."

"It feels great," Legenzowski said about being on the medal stand. "It would have felt better if we had won, but second in the world is pretty special. I'm just so proud of my boat for trusting me with the rhythm and believing in me and believing in each other."

The U.S. had five boats racing Saturday afternoon in B finals for overall places 7-12.

In the B final of the U23 lightweight men's single sculls, Nicholas Aronow (Laurel Hollow, N.Y./Princeton University) held off a late charge from the Austrian sculler to finish in second place in the race and eighth place overall. Aronow got off the line in fourth position before working his way into third at the halfway point and second with just 500 meters to go. Denmark's Rasmus Lind sat in second place at the 1,000-meter mark before moving into first place during the third 500. Aronow tried to challenge Lind for the top spot, but the Danish sculler was able to withstand the challenge and win by a length. Lind finished with a time of 7:12.23, with Aronow crossing in a 7:13.78. Austria's Konrad Hultsch finished third, just 0.17 seconds behind Aronow.

In the U23 women's double sculls, Simone Vorperian (Madison, Wis./University of Pennsylvania) and Susan Cook (Portland, Ore./Boston University) finished fourth in the B final for a 10th-place overall finish. The U.S. crossed the midway point in third before dropping back to fourth during the second half of the race. The Netherlands' Claire De Kok and Marg Van Der Wal used a strong second half to earn the victory in a 7:22.22. Lithuania finished second, followed by Italy. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:30.98.

In the U23 lightweight women's double sculls B final, Ruthie Lacy (Edmond, Okla./Oklahoma City University) and Brooke Ruszkiewicz (Middleton, Wis./Stanford University) finished fourth for a 10th-place overall finish. The U.S. crew raced in fourth at each of the 500-meter splits, finishing with a time of 7:26.95. Uzbekistan's Malika Tagmatova and Luizakhon Islomova won the race in a 7:21.30, finishing just over one second ahead of Brazil. Spain finished third.

In the B final of the U23 men's quadruple sculls, Cooper Tuckerman (Bozeman, Mont./Dartmouth College), Maxwell Kreutzelman (Orinda, Calif./Cornell University), Matthew Davis (Malvern, Pa./University of Pennsylvania), and Isaac Spokes (Baltimore, Md./Dartmouth College) finished fifth for an 11th-place finish overall. The U.S. dropped back to sixth off the line and could never get back in the race at the top of the field. Great Britain won a tight race ahead of Poland and Chile, with less than a second separating the top three crews. The British boat finished with a time of 5:54.60. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:00.76.

In the U23 lightweight men's double sculls B final, Clay Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Sean Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif./Georgetown University) crossed in fifth for an 11th-place overall finish. The crew finished with a time of 6:55.81. Belgium's Mil Blommaert and Savin Rodenburg held off the Greek crew to win the race in a 6:38.25.

In the U19 events, the U.S. had five boats racing in the semifinals for a chance to move on to tomorrow's finals, but only the women's quadruple sculls crew was able to advance.

The U19 women's quadruple sculls crew of Alice Dommer (San Carlos, Calif./Redwood Scullers/PACJC), Ava Schetlick (Charlottesville, Va./Virginia Rowing Association), Cillian Mullen (Batavia, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), and Heather Schmidt (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna Rowing) finished second in its semifinal to earn a spot in tomorrow's race for the medals. The U.S. boat finished about four seats behind the winning crew from Great Britain. With three to advance, the British boat raced at the head of the field the entire way down the course, while the U.S. boat battled Poland for second place. Poland held the advantage through the 1,000-meter mark before the U.S. moved into second as the crews hit the final quarter of the race. The U.S. pulled away from the Polish crew over the final 500 meters, finishing with a time of 6:38.42. Great Britain won the race in a 6:36.64. Poland finished in a time of 6:39.65, a couple of seconds ahead of Italy. The three crews will race Germany, Romania, and The Netherlands in the final.

Racing in the second of two semifinals, the U19 men's quadruple sculls crew of Sam Dowd (Omaha, Neb/Red Dog Rowing), Walid Ghamra (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Timothy Parsons (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene Rowing Club), and Ashton Perlroth (Palo Alto, Calif./Redwood Scullers) finished just out of a qualification spot for the finals, finishing less than a half-second out of third. Germany led the race through the 1,500-meter mark, but the Czech Republic was able to catch the Germans at the line to win the race in a 5:55.39, just 0.12 seconds ahead of Germany. The U.S. traded places with Great Britain for third and fourth over the final 1,500 meters, but it was the British boat that ended up taking the final qualification spot in a 5:57.13. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:57.60. The Americans now will race in tomorrow's B final against Romania, Ukraine, Switzerland, Bulgaria, and The Netherlands.

The U19 men's double sculls duo of Tristan Wakefield (Bettendorf, Iowa/Y Quad Cities Rowing) and Nikhil Ramaraju (Bettendorf, Iowa/Y Quad Cities Rowing) also finished fourth, missing a spot in the final by just over one second. Racing in the first of two semifinals, Wakefield and Ramaraju sat in sixth position for most of the race before coming up just short in their sprint. Turkey's Ahmet Ali Kabadayi and Halil Kaan Koroglu led the race from the start and held off a late charge by Croatia's Marin Smoljanoovic and Ivan Talaja to earn the victory. Turkey won with a time of 6:28.12, with Croatia finishing in a 6:30.61. Switzerland's Ondrej Zedka and Ivo Loepfe held on for third, clocking a 6:32.24. The U.S. finished in a 6:32.24 and will take on scullers from Canada, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, and Uruguay in the B final.

In the semifinals of the U19 women's single sculls, Olivia Petri (Brisbane, Calif./Redwood Scullers) finished fifth and will now race in the B final for overall places 7-12. With three to advance to the final, Petri sat in sixth position through the 1,000-meter mark before moving into fifth in the third quarter of the race. Greece's Aikaterini Gkogkou dominated the field, winning by nearly eight seconds in a 7:36.70. Switzerland's Lina Kuehn took second in a 7:44.62, with Italy's Aurora Spirito coming back to take third. Petri finished with a time of 8:00.47 and will now race scullers from Slovenia, Tunisia, Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Moldova in the B final.

The U19 men's four crew of Davis Schroeder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Josh Yin (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Rowing Club), Oscar Patton (Lincoln, Mass./Deerfield Academy), and Jack Skinner (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier Rowing Club) finished sixth in the second of two semifinals and now will race in tomorrow's B final for places 7-12. Italy led the field through the 1,000-meter mark before Denmark pulled its bowball ahead as the crews approached 500 meters to go. Denmark continued to pull away in the sprint, winning by nearly two seconds with a time of 6:09.91. Italy took second in a 6:11.75. The Czech Republic earned the final qualifying spot, just over two seconds ahead of Spain. The U.S. dropped to fifth off the line, and while it was still within striking distance of the third-place Czech crew over the back half of the race, the U.S. boat could not reel in the last spot in the final. The U.S. will face Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Spain, and Canada in the B final.

In the first C/D semifinal of the U19 men's single sculls, Charles Boldt (Zionsville, Ind./Indianapolis Rowing Center) won the race by open water to earn a spot in tomorrow's C final for overall places 13-18. Boldt took the lead off the line and extended his advantage to about a length at the midway point. Switzerland's Nicolas Chambers made a strong charge at Boldt during the third 500 meters, closing the gap to less than a half second entering the final quarter of the race. Chambers continued to challenge Boldt until the final 250 before the American upped his rating and pulled away for the win. Boldt won in a 7:15.53, with Chambers holding off a strong sprint from Estonia's Christopher Hein, clocking a 7:18.20. The Estonian finished with a time of 7:18.96 to finish just over a second ahead of Kazakhstan's Artem Matussevich. Boldt will race scullers from Switzerland, Estonia, Norway, Chinese Taipei, and Paraguay in the C final.

The U19 women's double sculls crew of Hannah Peters (Newton, Mass./Noble and Greenough School/Cambridge Boat Club) and Catherine Barry (Oyster Bay Cove, N.Y./Friends Academy) finished third in the first of two C/D semifinals to advance to tomorrow's C final for overall places 13-18. With three to advance, South Africa took the early lead before Australia moved into the top position at the 1,000-meter mark. The U.S. sat comfortably in third the entire way down the course. Australia's Zoe Bond and Talisa Knoke-Driver won the race in a 7:18.70, while South Africa's Taniel Stroud and Emma Gomes finished second in a 7:21.03. Peters and Barry crossed the line with a time of 7:22.51. Peters and Barry will take on scullers from Australia, South Africa, Spain, Mexico, and Latvia in the C final.

Racing will conclude on Sunday with the finals in the under 19 events. In addition to the women's quad, which advanced from today's semifinals, four other crews will be racing for medals.

The U19 women's four of Samantha Smart (Mill Valley, Calif./Marin Rowing Association), Elsa Hartman (Roseville, Calif./Capital Crew), Imogen Cabot (Cambridge, Mass./The Winsor School), and Kennedy Housley (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew) easily won their heat to move directly to Sunday's final. The crew will take on boats from Romania, Italy, France, Great Britain, and Spain. Romania won the other heat.

The U19 women's eight began defense of its world title in dominant fashion Thursday, winning its heat by over five seconds to move on to the final. The crew of coxswain Frances McKenzie (Cos Cob, Ct./Greenwich Crew), Eugenia Rodríguez-Vázquez (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain/Princeton National Rowing Association/Mercer), Lily Pember (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), Sarah Bradford (Oconomowoc, Wis./Milwaukee Rowing Club), Quincy Stone (San Francisco, Calif./Marin Rowing Association), Ellie Bijeau (Washington, D.C./Wilson Crew), Phoebe Wise (Greenwich, Ct./Greenwich Crew), Sofia Simone (Miami, Fla./Sarasota Crew), and Nora Goodwillie (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation) will race against Great Britain, New Zealand, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Romania with the medals on the line. Great Britain won the other heat.

With only five crews entered in the U19 women's four with coxswain, the U.S. crew of coxswain Ella Casano (Fairfield, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Ella Wheeler (South Orange, N.J./Northfield Mount Hermon School), Annika Jeffery (Portland, Ore./Rose City Rowing Club), Lindsey Brail (New York, N.Y./ Pelham Community Rowing Association), and Sophia Greco (Norwalk, Conn./Connecticut Boat Club) won the preliminary race for lanes in a U23 championships' best time. The crew will race Romania, Italy, Germany, and China in the final. Romania was second in the race for lanes.

The U19 men's eight of coxswain Adam Casler (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Drew Cavanaugh (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Crew), Davis Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash./Burton Beach Rowing Club), Luke Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Preparatory School), Travis O'Neil (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Jordan Dykema (Seattle, Wash.), Owen Finnerty (Ardmore, Pa./St. Joseph's Preparatory School), Kian Aminian (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), and John Patton (Houston, Texas/Deerfield Academy) won its repechage to advance to the medal race. The U.S. will take on Germany, Great Britain, France, China, and Italy in the final. Germany and France are the top two seeds, having won the heats.

The U19 women's pair of Rachel Lande (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Marina Aquatic Center) and Shannon Kearney (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Marina Aquatic Center) will race in the B final against crews from Brazil, Romania, and Moldova for places 7-10.

The U19 men's pair of Jonas Thieme (San Jose, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club) and Alberto Lasso (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club) will race in the C final against Egypt and Kazakhstan for overall places 13-15.

Complete press coverage, athlete bios, and links to event information are available at www.usrowing.org and www.worldrowing.com. Follow along with the U.S. U19 and U23 national teams as they prepare for the championships by using the hashtags #WRU23Champs and #WRU19Champs.

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.

USRowing also would like to thank HUDSON, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Under 19 National Team. Through the partnership, HUDSON supplies racing shells for selection and training domestically, with matched shells provided internationally for racing.