U.S. Women’s Four Wins Semifinal, Three Crews Advance to A Finals at U23 World Championships

The U.S. advanced three crews to A Finals on day two of the 2026 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Duisburg, Germany, highlighted by the women's four posting the fastest time of the day. The men’s four and women’s pair also secured spots in tomorrow’s A Finals with second-place finishes. Several other U.S. crews posted solid performances to earn top finishes in their respective finals. Multiple athletes from last year’s U19 team have stepped up, demonstrating strong development at this year’s U23 World Championships, despite their age. Tony Madigan and Simeon John, who have yet to race in college, have shown impressive maturity. 

"The team took another positive step forward today, and we're excited to see what tomorrow's and Sunday's finals will bring," said Brett Gorman, Fred L. Emerson Jr. Head Coach, High Performance Pathways. "Many of our sculling athletes are competing at their first U23 World Championships, and they've done a great job embracing the challenge of international racing. Competing in the C and D Finals with determination and fighting for every inch will help them continue to grow as competitors in the years ahead."

Women’s Four

The women’s four continued to improve on their speed at the World Championships, winning their semifinal by open water and posting the fastest time of the day. University of California, Berkeley's Ella Wheeler, Stanford University's Annika Jeffrey, the University of Texas's Phoebe Wise, and Stanford University's Claire Van Praagh established an early lead, reaching open water before the first 500-meter mark. Rather than settling into their advantage, the Americans continued to extend their lead, crossing the finish line in 6:35.54. All four athletes are U19 world champions, while Wise also raced in the University of Texas varsity eight that won the 2026 NCAA Championship and set an unofficial world record. 

Men’s Four

The U.S. men's four of Gonzaga University's Tobias Finn, Harvard University’s Jordan Dykema, Princeton University's Kian Aminian, and Yale University’s Timmy Parsons battled closely with South Africa and China through the opening 500 meters. The Americans moved ahead of South Africa during the second quarter of the race and steadily increased their advantage over the remainder of the course. South Africa mounted a late sprint, but the U.S. held on to finish second in 6:02.03 behind Australia to qualify for tomorrow's A Final. Kian Aminian is a four-time national team member, who has made great strides since entering the U.S. Pathways Development program as a U19 athlete. Timmy Parsons began his international career as a U19 athlete, later competing as a U23 lightweight sculler before transitioning to openweight crews last year.

Women’s Pair

Northeastern University's Gracelyn Theobald and Stanford University’s Carly Brown secured a place in the women's pair A Final with a second-place finish in their semifinal. Australia took an early lead, while the Americans settled comfortably into second ahead of Romania. The U.S. answered every challenge from the Romanians and crossed the line in 7:24.94. It marks the first U.S. women's pair to reach an A Final at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships since 2021. Carly Brown is a two-time U19 world champion competing on her first U23 team. 

Women’s Single Sculls

University of Washington’s Cillian Mullen opened the women's single sculls semifinal in sixth before steadily working through the field. After moving past the Czech Republic, he produced a strong closing sprint to overtake Greece and finish fourth in 7:39.43, narrowly missing the final qualifying position for the A Final by less than a second. Mullen will race in Sunday's B Final. Mullen is a four-time national team member, who first competed on the U19 national team in both sculling and sweep boats. 

Men’s Pair

Dartmouth College's Francis McGrath and Jack Kastner improved throughout their men's pair semifinal after sitting sixth early in the race. A strong third 500 meters carried the Americans past Brazil and China into fourth place, where they finished in 6:47.73 and will race in the B Final tomorrow. McGrath previously won silver in the U19 men’s eight in 2024. 

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls

In the lightweight men's single sculls semifinal, the opening 500 meters featured five crews separated by less than half a second. Simeon John raced alongside the Netherlands through the middle of the course before the Dutch rower moved ahead. John responded with a strong finish, edging Germany to the line for fourth place in 7:10.98. He will compete in Sunday's B Final. John has yet to begin at Dartmouth College, he finished his senior year by winning the 2026 USRowing Youth National Championships in the men’s single sculls. 

Men’s Single Sculls

Levi Munster of Middlebury College finished fifth in the men's single sculls C Final to place 17th overall. Munster jumped out to an early lead and set an aggressive pace, holding the top spot through the first three-quarters of the race. Despite a determined effort over the closing meters, he was unable to fend off the field and crossed the line fifth in 7:12.20. He finished 17th overall. 

Men’s Double Sculls

Tony Madigan and Boston University’s Daniel Malecki won the men's double sculls D Final in 6:29.38. The Americans led off the start before Latvia moved ahead through the middle 1,000 meters. Madigan and Malecki responded with a powerful sprint over the closing 500 meters, overtaking Latvia by 0.33 seconds to finish the championship in 19th place. Madigan previously competed on the U19 team in 2025, finishing fifth overall in the men’s single sculls. 

Women’s Double Sculls

In the women's double sculls C Final, Princeton University’s Cate Sauer and University of Texas’s Savanna Jerome took command from the opening strokes, leading by 3.66 seconds after the first 500 meters. They continued to increase their advantage throughout the race, crossing the finish line in 7:14.36, more than eight seconds ahead of second-place China, to finish 13th overall. 

Men’s Quadruple Sculls

The U.S. men's quadruple sculls sat fourth through the opening half of the C Final before making their move during the third 500 meters. Princeton University’s George Dolce, Princeton University’s Cyrus Rosenberg, Georgetown University’s Michael Ruschmann, and Georgetown University’s Thomas Segrera overtook Romania and New Zealand to climb into second and held the position through the finish, crossing the line in 6:02.10 to place 14th overall. George Dolce made the leap to the U23 team as a Freshman after previously competing on two U19 teams. Cyrus Rosenberg was a member of the 2024 U19 team. 

A Finals begin tomorrow with the women's pair, women's quadruple sculls, and men's and women's four competing for medals. The mixed double sculls will make its World Championships debut in the opening heats, while the men's pair races in the B Final. Follow the results and schedule here. Livestream coverage will be available on YouTube and Overnght. Photos of the event are available here.