U.S. Wins Three Bronze Medals on Final Day of the 2026 World Rowing Championships

The U.S. closed out the 2026 World Rowing Championships with a strong final day of racing in Amsterdam, earning medals in three A Finals and putting several crews in the fight for the podium. The women’s eight, mixed double sculls, and mixed eight all secured bronze. Sam Melvin narrowly missed the podium in the men’s single sculls, finishing fourth by just 0.11 seconds in the event’s best U.S. World Championship result in 29 years. The men’s eight finished fifth overall, while Lauren O’Connor finished 11th overall in the women’s single sculls.

The U.S. finished the championships with nine medals in total, three gold and six bronze. The team made history multiple times throughout the week. The U.S. women’s four set a world-best time and became back-to-back World Champions for the first time since 1996. The PR3 mixed coxed four ended Great Britain’s 15-year winning streak, capturing gold for the first time in U.S. history while setting a world championship record. The women’s quadruple sculls recorded their best World Championship performance since 2015. The nine medals landed the U.S. third in the medal table and second in total medal count, marking its best finish in the World Rowing Championships medal standings since 2018, when the team finished second overall with ten medals. It was the women’s best performance since 2018 in Olympic events.

With five total medals in Olympic-class events, this year’s World Championship results are the best medal count in the competition across Olympic events since 1981, when the U.S. also earned five medals across the men's coxed four, women's eight, men's single sculls, men's eight, women's coxed four.

“If you look at the event, what our objectives were, first, I think Olympics and Paralympics,” said Josy Verdonkschot, The McLane Family Chief High Performance Officer. “We wanted six to eight boats in the A Final and we got eight. We wanted four medals in Olympic events, we got five. We wanted this year a Paralympic medal, we got one, we had another boat in the A Finals. It’s racing so you never get everything, so statistics say we’re on target. The system is working, we’re doing well, but as a person I never can feel satisfied… I’m convinced that we’re on the right road…”

Women’s Eight A Final

Romania got its bow out early in the first 250 meters, while the U.S. settled into fifth. At the halfway mark, Romania held a strong lead, with second through fifth separated by just a few seats. The crew of Dahlia Levine (Ardmore, Pa.), Megan Lee (Natick, Mass.), Olympian Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y.), Olympian Jess Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Olympian Claire Collins (McLean, Va.), Camille VanderMeer (Elmira, N.Y.), Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson (Corvallis, Ore.), Etta Carpender (Denver, Colo.) and coxswain Olympian Nina Castagna (Cincinnati, Ohio) began to move in the third 500 meters, closing the gap on Canada and trading blows with the crew. The U.S. moved into medal contention in the final 500 meters, clearing the Netherlands and taking the rate up against Great Britain. Britain countered the American sprint as Romania secured the win, followed by Great Britain and the U.S. in third in a time of 5:53.76.

“We knew everybody was gonna be pretty fast with the tailwind conditions today,” said Charlotte Buck. “We were very inspired by our women’s four setting a new world’s best time yesterday, so we’ve had a goal all season to hit a certain speed through the 500. We were definitely there. We knew that we were in it. The U.S. women, we’re good at walking in the middle of the race, so that was really our game plan.”

Coxswain Nina Castagna, when asked about what makes the boat go: “Sticking together…Hopefully we’ve prepped so much that they know exactly what to do at each point in the race, and they did. The reality is we put a lot of time, a lot of mileage in with this group, so it’s cool to get our first full side by side race of the season right. Work to be done, of course, but we’re pretty excited with how everything went.”

Mixed Double Sculls A Final

After setting a world-best time in the morning’s semifinals, Cedar Cunningham (Renton, Wash.) and Olympian Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis.) were back on the water to fight for a medal in the mixed double sculls A Final. Ireland got out to a quick start, taking the early lead with the U.S. and the Netherlands following closely behind. In the second 500 meters, the Netherlands moved into the lead as the U.S. began to close the gap on Ireland. The American crew charged toward Ireland in the final 500 meters but was unable to close the final few meters. Cunningham and Vitas crossed the finish line in 6:22.75, just 0.41 seconds behind second place.

The Netherlands won the event in a new world-best time. Vitas claimed her second bronze medal of the week after winning bronze in the quadruple sculls yesterday, while Cunningham earned his first World Championship medal.

Mixed Eight A Final

Romania got out early, with the U.S. just a seat behind in the opening strokes of the race. The U.S. crew was composed of the World Champion men’s and women’s fours. At the 750-meter mark, Romania and the U.S. held the lead, with a length of open water separating them from the rest of the field.

Romania responded to the U.S. move in the third 500 meters, moving six seats ahead of the Americans. Crossing the final 500-meter mark, the U.S. was unable to close the gap on Romania as the Netherlands began to attack in the final strokes. The medals came down to a photo finish for silver between the U.S. and the Netherlands, with the Netherlands taking silver by 0.19 seconds. Romania took gold, with the U.S. earning bronze.

Men’s Eight A Final

After a tight battle in the Men’s Eight Semifinal this morning, the U.S. men’s eight advanced to the A Final after finishing second behind Australia and ahead of Italy.

In the A Final, Germany held a slight advantage over the field in the opening strokes, with the top five crews separated by less than a second at the 500-meter mark. The Netherlands and the U.S. remained nearly even through the first half of the race, separated by just a meter at the 850-meter mark as they led the field.

Australia and Great Britain made a strong move in the third 500 meters, pulling ahead of the U.S. In the final 300 meters, Germany also moved past the Americans, who finished fifth in 5:22.32. The Netherlands, racing on home waters, claimed victory in a world’s best time.

Men’s Single Sculls A Final

In the A Final of the men’s single sculls, German Olympian Ollie Zeidler led the field through the first 500 meters as Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif.) settled into sixth. Zeidler and International Neutral Athlete Yauheni Zalaty battled at the front as Melvin began to chip away at the field in the second half of the race, moving past France before the halfway mark.

Melvin, known for his back-half speed, set his sights on Uruguay in fourth and quickly moved past him in the third 500 meters. The gap to Norway in third continued to shrink with each stroke as Melvin brought his rate up heading into the final 250 meters. The U.S. and Norway were bow ball to bow ball through the final strokes, with the race coming down to a photo finish. Norway took bronze, with Melvin finishing fourth by just 0.11 seconds. Zeidler took gold.

The last time a U.S. men’s single sculler reached the A Final at the World Championships was in 1997—the same year Melvin was born. Melvin’s fourth-place finish is the best U.S. performance in the men’s single sculls at the World Championships in 29 years.

Women’s Single Sculls B Final

Olympian Lauren O’Connor (Madison, Wis.) finished fifth in the B Final of the women’s single sculls. O’Connor settled into fifth through the first 500 meters as Ukraine took the lead. The three leaders began to pull away in the second 500 meters as O’Connor battled closely with South Africa, with only a few inches separating the two crews at the halfway mark.

South Africa made a move in the third 500 meters, and O’Connor was unable to counter. The American crossed the finish line in 7:30.84, with Germany taking the win. O’Connor finished 11th overall.

Athletes from the U.S. will compete next at Shanghai Sprints from September 26-27. The Beach Sprint National team will compete for world championship titles at the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals from October 18-21 in Qingdao, China. 

Photos of the event can be found here.

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior 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 Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Centers.