U23 Men’s and Women’s Eights Win Silver at 2024 World Championships

The U23 men’s and women’s eights won silver medals at the 2024 World Rowing Senior, Under 23, and Under 23 Championships in St. Catharines, Canada. The U23 portion of the world championships concluded today, August 23, with Team USA walking away with one gold and three silvers total.

The U23 women’s eight battled down the course with Great Britain and Germany, finishing second in a time of 6:08.35. With barely a second separating the top three crews at the halfway mark, Great Britain moved in the third 500 meters to grab first place. Coxswain Zoe Tekeian from the University of Virginia said, “It was quick from moment one; we had to trust that we had that middle thousand. Our camp was really tough, so having that grit in the middle thousand was what did it.” 

Despite many attempts to push back into the British eight, the Americans weren’t able to close the gap in the final strokes of the race but held off the Germans in a tight finish separated by only .26 seconds. Margot Leroux, Katherine Kelly, Joely Cherniss, Dahlia Levine, Aine Ley, Kathryn Serra, Natalie Hoefer, Hannah Smith, and Tekeian made up the silver medal winning crew. 

“To have the trust in the girls in the boat, the women in front of me and behind me were going for the same goal, was everything we could have hoped for. Our execution was just spot on, and we are really excited about it,” said Kelly, fellow Virginia teammate and seven seat of the eight. “To be able to do this with the group of women in this boat is something that I have not ever experienced before. This is such a committed group of people and I feel so fortunate and lucky to be a part of it this year. I’m awed and blown away. ”

“It’s pretty unreal. It’s really special to be here,” added Tekeian.

The U23 men’s eight took an early lead in the final of the world championships, trying to move their bow ball out of reach of Great Britain and leading by just a few inches in the first 1000 meters. The stern pair of the eight from the University of Pennsylvania, stroked by Sam Sullivan, pushed hard to counter the surging British crew who moved into first in the third 500 meters. Despite a valiant effort in the sprint to try to close on the leading crew, the crew of Sam Sullivan, Jason Kennedy, Julian Thomas, Keelan Good, Matt Davis, Wilson Morton, Kian Aminian, Blake Vogel and coxswain Sammy Houdaigui walked away with silver. 

“The race was good; I think we left it all out there,” Sullivan said. “I think it’s just one of those days. We showed we had the speed last Sunday, but it just didn’t happen today. We did what we could.”

Sullivan began rowing at Boston Latin Public School, whose boy’s rowing program had only just started when he learned to row. “It’s just amazing. I never saw myself here, it’s just unbelievable. I’m so happy with the result,” he said of coming from a small program.

Yale University’s Timothy Parsons dominated the B Final, winning by over seven seconds to second place-finisher Switzerland. Parsons settled into third place in the first 500 meters before charging through Peru and Switzerland and never relenting. Parsons built the seven-second lead over the last 1,000 meters. Parsons finished with a time of 6:59.25 and seventh overall in the event, the best finish since 2021. 

Stanford’s James Fetter finished second in the U23 men’s single sculls in a time of 6:56.87. Fetter got off the line behind most of the field, settling into fifth in the first 500 meters. He pushed through Italy, China, and France in the second 500 meters and began to battle with Tunisia’s Fedi Ben Hammouda, crossing the third 500 meters tied with him. Fetter worked to get his bow ball ahead but was unable to stop the charge of Tunisia in the final strokes. Fetter finished in a 6:58.17, just .56 seconds off of first place. 

Fetter, a rising senior at Stanford, walked on to the rowing team as a freshman, having previously swam in high school. Fetter only began sculling five months prior to finishing eighth at the world championships. 

University of Washington’s Cillian Mullen finished third in the B Final for the U23 women’s single sculls in a time of 7:43.17. The top three race finishes got out to a quick lead with winner Paraguay and second place finisher Poland walking away in the first 500 meters. Mullen maintained his composure and maintained the third place position down the course. 

“The race went well; it’s one of the best races I’ve put out thus far,” said Mullen. “To be able to race against people who have competed at World Cup II, the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta, and the actual Olympics has been huge. It’s a big area of growth for me going into the next couple of years. I still have two more years of eligibility, so hopefully I get a chance to use those. I’m just super pumped for what’s to come. I’m obviously not the most happy about the final result, but excited to grow off of it.”

The U23 women’s four won their B Final in a time of 6:35.67, just ahead of the second place finishers from the Netherlands. The crew from Spain got off the line quickly while the American crews were only a few inches away. The U.S. crew from the University of Texas settled into their pace in the second 500 meters, surging into first ahead of Spain and the Netherlands and never relenting. They finished the regatta seventh overall. 

Stroke Anna Jensen said, “We are really proud of how we handled this regatta, with some early disappointments in the heat. We held our heads high, and we looked to get better each race. We felt like we accomplished that. Coming away with a win in the B Final wasn’t our hope entering the regatta, but we are so proud of how we handled ourselves and made the most of every opportunity we had to race.”

The U23 men’s quadruple sculls finished third in the B Final in a time of 05:50.65. The crews from Ireland and Sweden rocketed out of the blocks with the U.S. crew in third. Lithuania and New Zealand challenged the U.S. crew through the middle of the course before a strong move by the Americans brought their bow in front by just under a second over New Zealand. Charles Jones, Dylan Green, James Schmidt, and Harry Hall finished ninth overall in the event. 

The U23 women’s double won the B Final in a time of 7:02.94. Ohio State University’s Paige Wheeler and Cornell University’s Ellie Van Houten settled into second place behind a quick Great Britain, who held onto the lead for the first half of the race. The U.S. crew were able to move their bow ball ahead in the third 500 meters, opening a gap of two seconds on the Great Britain crew. The Americans were able to cross the finish line with open water, finishing the regatta seventh overall, the best finish for the U.S. since 2019. 

NYAC’s Sam Melvin finished third in the lightweight men’s single A/B Semifinal after a close fight with Italy’s Niels Torre and Greece’s Antonios Papakonstantinou. Melvin settled into fourth at the start of the race before pushing even with the leaders from Italy and Greece. The three continued to trade blows down the course with less than a second separating them in the closing sprint. Greece was able to walk away with the victory, and Italy managed to gain a few inches on Melvin in the final strokes. Melvin finished in a time of 6:51.96, under a second behind Italy. He will race in the A Final tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. ET. 

Audrey Boersen finished sixth in the lightweight women’s single in a time of 7:40.53. Boersen’s first 500 meters placed her in sixth place behind Poland, and she was unable to make up the ground the top-three finishers had created in the opening half of the race. Greece’s Zoi Fitsiou won the race, followed by Mexico’s Kenia Lechuga Alanis. Boersen will race in B Final tomorrow at 10:12 a.m. ET.

The U19 women’s quadruple sculls finished just outside a qualifying spot in third place in the repachage. The winners from Germany led the race wire to wire while the U.S. crew settled into third place off the start, battling with the Czech Republic. The Czech made a strong move in the third 500 meters that the U.S. crew was unable to counter. They finished in a time of 6:38.25. They will race in the B Final on Sunday at 10:27 a.m. ET.

Tomorrow, the finals for the senior portion of the regatta take place. Sam Melvin and the lightweight men’s quadruple sculls race for gold.