Hello, Year of More Awesome

There is no arguing that our club had a Year of Awesome in 2012. Well, you could argue about it, but you’d sound a little crazy.

From success on the racecourse (the Henley crews, gold at Masters Nationals, a Champion Women’s double at the Charles, and of course, our Women’s Double that took us all the way to the 2012 Olympics) …

To a massive new dock installation at home, where folks from across the club – and their families, too! – came out in droves to be part of a club-historic effort …

To the diverse group of club members who showed up at the home of our dear friend and fellow club member Stephen D. Vermillion, III, to christen a hull in his name just before he passed …

To the countless little things fixed or improved upon all over the club by those who take no credit and want no glory …

Yep, PBC. We definitely had one of the most active years of club participation in recent history.

So, take a moment to reflect on 2012 and pat yourself on the back for an awesome year. Then take another moment to thank the club member who stood shoulder to shoulder with you as we moved ramps, floats and old sections of dock away to make way for the new.

Thank folks like our former club president Bob Price and our newly elected president Ed Ryan, who set in motion many of the people and mechanisms that helped us make last year the success that it was.

Join us in thanking everyone who was part of the solution, any solution, that made our club an even better place to be.  THANK YOU, NAMELESS FACELESS FELLOW CLUB MEMBER!

Finally, remember the passion that former House Committee chair Stephen D. Vermillion, III, had for PBC up until the very moment he passed. And when you do, grab hold of the positive change we saw in 2012 and with everything you have, pull it into 2013, the Year of More Awesome.

It doesn’t take a village.  It takes a club.  A club of champions … GO, PBC.

Matt, Margot and Sarah take us to London!

Millions of strokes are taken every year by those who dream of being able to represent their country and prove they truly are the best in the world.  A few of us, like our Margot Shumway, Sarah Trowbridge and coach Matt Madigan, have lived that moment.

Today, “Sarah Trowbridge and Margot Shumway dominated the finals of the double sculls to finish more than a second ahead of the Netherlands in 7 minutes, 3.96 seconds.” [Read the entire USAToday story here.]

With that performance, the heart and pride of this entire club will go with Margot, Sarah and Matt as they get the chance to live that moment again, representing the United States on the world’s biggest athletic stage at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

AWESOME RACING in Lucerne … with the best yet to come!

To donate to help our PBC National Team members, as well as our National Team hopefuls, get even closer to realizing their dreams, please click HERE.

This week! PBC at the NSR II and Non-Qualified Olympic Small Boat Trials

Heat sheets and results (available April 9, 2012, after Athletes Meeting)

Katie Stainken trains for trials this week in California.

The U.S. Non-Qualified Olympic Small Boat Trials take place this week in Chula Vista, California.  A select few of our Open Sculling Program athletes have been preparing for this event in Long Beach since January.  Training has been tough, but every day our athletes have shown dedication and progress towards meeting their goals.

Willy Cowles training to win the Men's Double Sculls.

Competing in trials will be the toughest challenge many of these athletes have faced.  But winning here means overcoming just one more hurdle to representing the United States at the Olympic Games in London.

This week’s winners of the men’s double sculls and women’s double sculls trials earn the chance to race at the Lucerne Qualification Regatta in May.

Open Sculling Program head coach Reilly Dampeer says, “I am confident in the hard work our athletes have put in, which of course started years ago.  We can look forward to aggressive racing this week.”

Go get ‘em, PBC!

Viva la Shumway!

PBC race fans, standby for an exciting fall!

This week, five Olympians have earned the opportunity to represent the United States in rowing at the Pan American Games, October 15-19 in Guzman City, Mexico.  Among them is our very own Margot Shumway, who won her trial in the women’s single sculls event with a time of 7:41.09.  Reilly Dampeer will accompany Margot as U.S. National Team coach, W1x.

Congratulations to Margot and Coach Reilly!  And thanks to our entire Open Sculling Team for representing PBC so well this week.  We’re so proud of all of you!

To read the complete story on USRowing.org, click on 2011 Pan American Games Trials Complete.

To check out all of the great race performances by our Open Scullers at Pan Am Trials, click here and then go to “Complete Results.”

Don Spero: From Tokyo to the Thames

Don Spero gives up his shirt after losing to Vyacheslav Ivanov at the European Championships in Amsterdam in 1964. Two months later, Spero would beat Ivanov during heats in a historic upset at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

You are cordially invited to hear PBC senior member, Olympian and former World Single Sculls champion, Don Spero, talk about his experiences rowing at the elite level when the PBC Social Committee hosts From Toyko to the Thames: A Conversation with Olympian Don Spero, May 4th at 6:30 pm, at the University Club, located at 1135 16^th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

One of America’s most celebrated rowing athletes, long-time PBC senior member Don Spero has built a rowing career that is now legendary.  Spero won the World Rowing Single Sculls Championship in 1966 in Bled, Yugoslavia. Later that year, he again took the gold medal at the National Championships at St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada. In 1965, Spero won the Henley Regatta Diamond Sculls Championship in England and the Duisberg International Regatta Single Sculls Gold Medal in Germany.  Spero was the U.S. National Champion in the Single Sculls in 1963, 1964, and 1966; Double Sculls Champion in 1963; and Quadruple Sculls Champion in 1965.

“From Tokyo to the Thames” will be the first in a speaker series that the Social Committee plans to hold regularly for PBC members and others interested in the sport of rowing.

The event is free for all members and guests, and includes a reception.  To attend, please RSVP to Sean Durkin at sdurkin@columbiagroup.com

Until then, enjoy watching this video of Don rowing at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and listening to the very interesting commentary:

Happy Holidays from PBC’s Open Scullers! (Updated with pics!)

[Update: 12/30/10] Lucky us! Social Committee Co-Chair Camilla Durfee took a quick break from her busy holiday social schedule to send us the following photos taken by Louise Krumm at the 2010 PBC Holiday Party, on December 12. Just click play (forward arrow) to check them out. If you haven’t had a chance to read the original post from the Open Scullers, keep scrolling!

Thanks for sharing, Camilla and Louise! And Happy New Year, PBC!

Katie Stainken (foreground) and Maria Bokulich of PBC's Open Sculling team race the Women's Championship single event at the HOCR 2010.

Our hard charging PBC Open Scullers are taking on a new challenge … keeping you, their extended PBC team, up to date on all of the great things they’re doing!

This first installment comes from Open Sculler Katie Stainken. You’ll learn more about Katie and the rest of the team as soon as they get their bios posted! Look for them on the Star in the next few weeks!

Here’s the latest from Katie:

It was awesome to see so many people attend the PBC Holiday Party this year! We really enjoyed decorating the ballroom, hosting the party, but most of all, chatting with fellow PBC’ers in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, as opposed to the usual quick conversations on the dock.  Thanks to you, and some beautiful notecards produced by Susan Trice, we were able to raise about $1200 for the Potomac River Sports Foundation (PRSF) to help us with our training efforts throughout the year.  Many generous PBC members also brought gifts for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.  All in all, it was a great night for us and we hope you enjoyed yourselves, too.

We want to say something chipper here, but all we can think of is, "Yuck."

On the training side of things, we certainly have braved some unseasonably cold temperatures in the DC area this month. The ice continues to creep across the river, so we’ve already traded in our sculls and team boats for ergs.  Looks like all of those long rows out to Haines Point and up to Fletcher’s that were on the schedule will have to wait for now.  We don’t mind having to erg at the moment, though; it gives us a chance to rock out to tunes on our iPods while we workout, which is a nice change.  Our apologies in advance to those who come down to the boathouse in the morning for our music tastes!

Coming soon, look for a new Open Sculler website to be announced in the Star – complete with athlete bios!  We’re also planning an event for February, so as soon as the date is confirmed, we will let everyone know when to mark your calendars!

In the meantime, if you’re still in the gift-giving mood this holiday day season, please remember that your donations to the PRSF go to help PBC’s National Team athletes, and as always, are tax deductible!  To donate via check or PayPal, click here to go to the PRSF donation post on the Star.

Finally, for those of you who missed out on ordering your set of PBC notecards, they’re still available!  The Star will post all the information you need to get your very own set soon.

Thanks, again, for your support, PBC, and Happy Holidays from the Open Scullers!

Fancy-schmancy PBC notecards support our Open Scullers. Get ‘em while they’re hot!

(They’ll be the only thing hot around the boathouse for awhile.)

Social Committee chair and part-time greeting card creator Susan Trice recently produced beautiful notecards with photos of Potomac Boat Club to sell in support of our Open Sculling Program, and aren’t you a lucky duck?! There are still a few packs left! 

Cards with envelopes are offered in packs of six with your choice of one of three cover images: Flat Water, Through the Bridge, or Four Oar Rule. They measure 4.25” x 5.5” or 5.5” x 4.25” (depending on orientation) and are blank inside.

The cards were a huge hit at the Holiday Party (raising almost $1200!), so we recommend you grab an armload before they run out! Best of all, when you do, you’ll support our Open Sculling Program with another tax deductible donation. (Find details on how to snag yours following the images below.)

Flat Water

Through the Bridge

Four Oar Rule

I would like to support the Open Sculling Program by ordering one or more of the following:

__________ packages of Flat Water @ $10.00 each __________

__________ packages of Through the Bridge @ $10.00 each __________

__________ packages of Four Oar Rule @ $10.00 each __________

_____ I can pick these up at PBC.

_____ I have included $1.00 per package for shipping and handling __________

Name ____________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________

City, State, Zip _____________________________________________

I would like to make an additional tax-deductible donation to support the Open Sculling Program. __________

TOTAL ENCLOSED __________

Please make checks payable to the Potomac River Sports Foundation (PRSF).  PRSF is a 501 (c) (3) organization.  The purchase of a package of cards represents a $7.30 donation for tax purposes.

Place order form and check in the Social Committee Box at the club or mail to:

PBC Open Sculling Fundraising
3530 Water Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007

World Championships in NZ!

Margot Shumway in the U.S. quad in 2008.

The U.S. National Team is headed to New Zealand … and we’re going with them!

World Rowing Championships will be held this year from October 31-November 7, on beautiful Lake Karapiro in the land of the Kiwis.  UniversalSports.com will stream all 22 “A” finals LIVE followed by highlights and full replays.

• Register here to watch!
• Click here to go to the results.

Okay.  So, it’s not exactly like being there, but think of it this way:  no jetlag and you won’t have to quit your job to follow the team.

The 80-person roster includes 70 returning National Team members and 20 Olympians.  Potomac Boat Club’s own Margot Shumway will compete in the women’s quad.

Forty-four members of the team, including Margot, competed last year at World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland. The U.S. brought home seven medals from Poznan including gold in the women’s eight, women’s pair and men’s pair with coxswain; silver in the women’s four, lightweight men’s eight and women’s quad; and bronze in the lightweight women’s quad. Erin Cafaro and Susan Francia are back to defend their title in the women’s pair, while three members of the women’s eight return from the Beijing Olympics gold-medal lineup.

Lake Karapiro. Nothing like the sweet smell of sulphur in the morning!

Kiwi legend has it that Lake Karapiro was the stronghold of Maori chief O-Te-Ihingarangi.  Its name comes from “kara,” which means stone, and “piro,” which means evil-smelling.  We’re not sure what they’ve done about the smell, but today, New Zealanders claim Karapiro is one of the finest, most picturesque rowing venues in the world.  From what we’ve seen, it’s gorgeous … and we don’t care what it smells like as long as it means gold for our U.S. Team!

Below is the full U.S. National Team roster for the 2010 World Rowing Championships.  You’ll find Margot listed along with a few of our other hometown favorites.

GO TEAM USA!

2010 World Rowing Championships Roster
(Name, Hometown)

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x)
Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.)

Women’s Single Sculls (W1x)
Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.)

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x)
Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Women’s Double Sculls (W2x)
Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.)
Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.)

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x)
Scott Gault (Piedmont, Calif.)
Elliot Hovey (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.)
Wes Piermarini (West Brookfield, Mass.)
Will Miller (Duxbury, Mass.)

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x)
Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.)
Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.)
Natalie Dell (Somerville, Mass.)
Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio)

Lightweight Women’s Quadruple Sculls (LW4x)
Abby Broughton (Tetonia, Idaho)
Ursula Grobler (Pretoria, South Africa)
Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.)
Victoria Burke (Redding, Conn.)

Men’s Pair (M2-)
Ryan Monaghan (Rochester, N.Y.)
Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.)

Women’s Pair (W2-)
Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.)
Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.)

Men’s Pair with Coxswain (M2+)
Stephen Young (Tampa, Fla.)
Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.)
Justin Stangel (Madison, Wis.)

Lightweight Men’s Pair (LM2-)
Mike Nucci (Blue Bell, Pa.)
Evan Tsourtsoulas (Kastoria, Greece)

Men’s Four (M4-)
Silas Stafford (Santa Rosa, Calif.)
Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.)
Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.)
Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.)

Women’s Four (W4-)
Ali Cox (Turlock, Calif.)
Adrienne Martelli (University Place, Wash.)
Grace Luczak (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Mara Allen (San Francisco, Calif.)

Lightweight Men’s Four (LM4-)
Will Daly (Vail, Colo.)
Ryan Fox (Edgerton, Wis.)
Nick LaCava (Weston, Conn.)
Anthony Fahden (Lafayette, Calif.)

Men’s Eight (M8+)
Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.)
Tom Peszek (Farmington Hills, Mich.)
Jason Read (Ringoes, N.J.)
Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.)
Jake Cornelius (Brooktondale, N.Y.)
Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.)
Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.)
Mark Murphy (Madison, Wis.)
David Banks (Potomac, Md.)

Women’s Eight (W8+)
Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.)
Eleanor Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine)
Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Taylor Ritzel (Larkspur, Colo.)
Meghan Musnicki (Ithaca. N.Y.)
Kady Glessner (Seattle, Wash.)
Jamie Redman (Spokane, Wash.)
Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine)

Lightweight Men’s Eight (LM8+)
Stephen Young (Tampa, Fla.)
Jimmy Sopko (Mathews, Va.)
Matt Kochem (Burnt Hills, N.Y.)
Kenny McMahon (Ladysmith, Wis.)
Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.)
Michael Kerrigan (Charlottesville, Va.)
Julian Bowling (Shelby, N.C.)
Bob Duff (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.)
Skip Dise (Beverly Hills, Mich.)

Adaptive Men’s Single Sculls (ASM1x)
Ron Harvey (Downingtown, Pa.)

Adaptive Four with Coxswain (LTA4+)
Jenny Sichel (Clifton, N.J.)
Eric McDaniel (Weeki Wachee, Fla.)
Emma Preuschl (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Eleni Englert (Oceanside, Calif.)
Andrew Johnson (Riverside, Conn.)

Coaching Staff
(Name, Affiliation, Boat(s))

Michiel Bartman, Vesper Boat Club, LM1x, LW1x
Patrick Brown, University of Central Oklahoma, ASM1x, LTA4+
Guenter Beutter, GMS Rowing Center, LM2x, LM4x
Carlos Dinares, LW2x, LW4x
Conal Groom, Seattle Rowing Center, W1x
Will Jurkowski, M1x
Annie Kakela, USRowing Training Center, W4-
Laurel Korholz, USRowing Training Center, W2x, W4x
Kris Korzeniowski, USRowing Training Center, M8+
Karen Lewis, USRowing Training Center, AM1x, A4+
Tim McLaren, USRowing Training Center, M8+, M4-, M2x, M4x, M2-, M2+
John Parker, Oklahoma City High Performance Center, LM2-, M2-, M2+, LM8+
Tom Terhaar, USRowing Training Center, W8+, W4x, W2x, W2-
Bryan Volpenhein, Oklahoma City High Performance Center, LM2-, LM4-, LM8+

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Congratulations to Christina and the U.S. Junior Women!

The bright future of U.S. women's rowing.

Congratulations to Potomac Boat Club’s Christina Bax and the U.S. women’s eight on their silver at Junior World Championships!

PBC senior member Ad Bax's daughter Christina accepts her medal with her teammates in Racice.

From USRowing, August 7, 2010:

The second silver medal for the United States came in the last race of the day. In the final of the women’s eight, coxswain Christine Devlin (Harvard, Mass.), Rosemary Grinalds (Southport, Conn.), Louise Breen (Northampton, N.H.), Madison Lips (Parker, Colo.), Christina Bax (Bethesda, Md.), Marianne Hoeft (New Canaan, Conn.), Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska), Faith Richardson (Wellesley, Mass.) and Carli Goldberg (Sarasota, Fla.) went into the race having advanced directly from Thursday’s heat with an 18-second win.

Great Britain was first off the start, and continued to lead through the middle thousand. Less than a second separated the United States, Germany and Romania at the halfway mark, with the U.S. crew leading the challenge on Great Britain. Despite a strong push from the U.S. in the sprint, the defending world-champions couldn’t quite close the gap on the British. Great Britain crossed the line 3.05 seconds ahead for the gold medal in a 6:24.97.

“We were down at the 500, which we expected,” said coxswain Christine Devlin. “We just found some serious power. There was one point in the second 500 where we had a move for ‘pain barriers.’ We went from five seats down to three seats. That was exciting, and it was a big move for us.”

The U.S. took the silver medal in a 6:28.02. Germany came up with a bronze-medal performance, edging out Romania by 0.66 seconds in a 6:30.21.

Want to see more photos of the women’s eight final?  Dr. Ted Walkley, U.S. Team Physician, took the photos we used in this post and more during the entire event.  Click here to go to Dr. Walkley’s album.

A full reprint of the USRowing report is below.

Women’s Four and Eight Win Silver at 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships

RACICE, Czech Republic – Steady rain persisted throughout the day, but it didn’t stop the U.S. from reaching the podium on two occasions the first day of finals at the 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships. The women’s four and women’s eight crews won silver, the first time in history that the United States has won double medals in sweep events at the World Rowing Junior Championships.
In the final of the women’s four, New Zealand shot ahead off the starting line, gaining half a boat length lead on the field in the first few strokes of the race. Crossing the halfway mark, New Zealand continued to lead the pack, with Australia and Spain close behind. The crew of Chandler Lally (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Jessica Eiffert (Honeoye Falls, N.J.), Agatha Nowinski (Sacramento, Calif.) and Lucy Grinalds (Southport, Conn.) sat in fourth place at the 1,000-meter mark before making its move. In a dead-on sprint, the U.S. crew overtook Australia with 150 meters to go, finishing less than a second behind New Zealand for the silver medal.

“It was an amazing race,” said three-time junior national team member Lucy Grinalds. “We had a little bit of a rough start, but we stuck to our race plan and really moved through the second 1,000 [meters]. Our goal was to make a huge move and a huge comeback. It was an awesome sprint through the finish.”
New Zealand held on to its lead to win the gold medal in a 6:49.48. The U.S. recorded a time of 6:50.38 at the line, with Australia holding off Germany by a mere 0.36 seconds for the bronze medal.

“They rowed it exactly as we talked about racing it,” said coach Justin Moore. “We knew that Australia was going to have a lot of early speed. It was possible, if we stayed close enough to use our efficiency to our advantage in the last 500. We knew that Spain was going to be fast; we knew that Australia was going to be fast. I was just so impressed because the girls really worked on rowing a very steady first 1,000 meters before committing to change momentum at the 1,100-meter mark. I couldn’t be happier.”

The second silver medal for the United States came in the last race of the day. In the final of the women’s eight, coxswain Christine Devlin (Harvard, Mass.), Rosemary Grinalds (Southport, Conn.), Louise Breen (Northampton, N.H.), Madison Lips (Parker, Colo.), Christina Bax (Bethesda, Md.), Marianne Hoeft (New Canaan, Conn.), Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska), Faith Richardson (Wellesley, Mass.) and Carli Goldberg (Sarasota, Fla.) went into the race having advanced directly from Thursday’s heat with an 18-second win.

Great Britain was first off the start, and continued to lead through the middle thousand. Less than a second separated the United States, Germany and Romania at the halfway mark, with the U.S. crew leading the challenge on Great Britain. Despite a strong push from the U.S. in the sprint, the defending world-champions couldn’t quite close the gap on the British. Great Britain crossed the line 3.05 seconds ahead for the gold medal in a 6:24.97.

“We were down at the 500, which we expected,” said coxswain Christine Devlin. “We just found some serious power. There was one point in the second 500 where we had a move for ‘pain barriers.’ We went from five seats down to three seats. That was exciting, and it was a big move for us.”

The U.S. took the silver medal in a 6:28.02. Germany came up with a bronze-medal performance, edging out Romania by 0.66 seconds in a 6:30.21.

“Our goal this summer was to prioritize the four and to win two medals in sweep, which the U.S. has never done before,” said coach Liz Trond. “Of course we were going for the gold, but we are definitely not disappointed with silver. Winning 13 medals today is pretty awesome.”

In the final of the women’s quadruple sculls, Hannah Solis-Cohen (Northfield, Mass.), Margaret Bertasi (London, England), Alexandria Chrumka (Grosse Point, Mich.) and Sophie Heywood (Tempe, Ariz.) finished sixth. Although it did not reach the podium, the crew recorded the highest finish for the U.S. in the event at the World Rowing Junior Championships. Germany, the bronze medalists at last year’s championships, won the gold medal in a 6:35.65. Ukraine took silver in a 6:39.42, while Belarus crossed third for the bronze medal in a 6:45.28. The U.S. crew was in fifth place through the first 1,000 meters of the course, before dropping back and crossing the line in a 6:55.86.

In semifinals action, the men’s four with coxswain and men’s single sculls qualified for the medal round on Sunday. The crew of Patrick O’Hara (Wilmette, Ill.), John McGrorty (Ambler, Pa.), Jacob Merrell (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Patrick Eble (Fort Washington, Pa.) and Michael Cox (Centerville, Va.) finished second in its semifinal, securing a spot in the final. The U.S. was in sixth place off the start and gradually worked its way through the field by the third quarter of the race. Italy took the lead at 500 meters, and held on to cross first in a 6:24.49. The U.S. posted a time of 6:27.31 in second, while Ukraine edged out Germany by 0.09 seconds for the third qualifying spot. Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand qualified from the second semifinal.

Andrew Campbell, Jr. (New Canaan, Conn.) qualified for the final of the men’s single sculls with a dramatic third-place finish in his semifinal. Germany’s Felix Bach, the defending world champion took an early lead on the field, gaining three boat lengths by the 700-meter mark. Campbell, who competed in the event at the 2009 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, was in third place off the start and rowed nearly even with Czech Republic’s Jakub Podrazil through the body of the race. Vying for second, both scullers brought up the rating to 36 strokes per minute in the sprint, but it was Podrazil who crossed in front by 0.42 seconds in a 7:46.36, with Campbell third in a 7:46.78. Bach won the race in a 7:42.56. The three scullers will meet again in tomorrow’s final, along with Greece, Italy and Slovakia from the first semifinal.

Alycia Daloia-Moore (Bronx, N.Y.) finished sixth in her semifinal of the women’s single sculls. Romania’s Laura Oprea won the race in a 7:54.75, with Latvia, Azerbaijan and Hungary less than two seconds back. Daloia-Moore clocked an 8:14.41 and will now race Hungary, Norway, Switzerland, Lithuania and Slovenia in Sunday’s B final for places 7-12.

Elizabeth Youngling (Westport, Conn.) and Hemmingway Benton (Glencoe, Ill.) won the B final of the women’s pair for a seventh-place finish overall. The U.S. duo was second off the start and pushed past France in the third 500 meters for the lead. Youngling and Benton crossed first in a 7:48.00, with France second in a 7:50.31. Czech Republic followed in an 8:12.72 for third.

In the men’s four, Thacher Dodge (South Salem, N.Y.), Parker Lange (Darien, Conn.), Thomas Stolarski (Weston, Conn.) and Charles Campbell (Darien, Conn.) finished sixth in the B final for 12th place overall. Czech Republic took an early lead, winning the race in a 6:14.84. The U.S. crew crossed the line in a 6:42.43.

The women’s double sculls and men’s quadruple sculls advanced to the C finals following each crews’ respective second-place finish in the C/D semifinals. Susan Greenberg (Westport, Conn.) and Alexandra Zadravec (Fairfield, Conn.) were second off the line and held off Estonia to cross second in a 7:52.34. Croatia won the race in a 7:36.86. In the men’s quad, Graham Anderson (Weston, Conn.), Patrick Donohue (Malvern, Pa.), Max Meyer-Bosse (Westport, Conn.) and Alex Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) led a dynamic sprint, nearly catching the French crew at the line. France won in a 6:09.06, with the U.S. just 0.49 seconds back in a 6:09.55.

Nader Al-Naji (Fairfax, Va.) and Robert Rasmussen (Washington D.C.) finished fourth in the C/D semifinal of the men’s double sculls, and will now race in the D final for places 19-24. Al-Naji and Rasmussen crossed the halfway point in sixth place, but were able to move past Estonia and Croatia in the third quarter of the race. Lithuania won in a 6:39.04, with the U.S. fourth in a 6:47.27.
In total, 679 athletes in 216 crews from 50 nations are represented at this year’s championships. Sunday’s schedule features finals in the men’s and women’s single sculls, men’s and women’s double sculls, men’s pair, men’s quadruple sculls, men’s four with coxswain and men’s eight. For more information, roster and athlete bios, visit www.usrowing.org.

USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing’s Official Suppliers are Boathouse Sports, Filippi, Croker Oars and Rudy Project; its Official Patron is Concept2; its Official Electronics Outfitter is Nielsen Kellerman; and its Official Timer is Powerhouse Timing. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation. For more information, visit www.usrowing.org.
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Margot to race in repechages on Tuesday

Our Margot Shumway certainly fought the good fight this morning in the first heat of the women’s single sculls at World Championships in Poland. Margot, stroke of the U.S. women’s quad at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, sat in third place for the first 1,000 meters before eventually slipping back to sixth.

Lucerne gold-medalist Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic won the heat with a time of 7:33.07, followed by three-time Olympic medalist Katherine Granger of Great Britain with a time of 7:36.59. Margot finished with a time of 7:46.69, and will race in the repechages on Tuesday, August 25.

In other Team USA rowing news, the U.S. women’s pair, men’s pair with coxswain and lightweight men’s eight finished first in their heats, while the women’s double sculls and the men’s pair crews finished second to advance. Eleven U.S. crews will race tomorrow, Monday, August 24.

To catch live coverage of tomorrow’s races, and Margot in the reps on Tuesday (6:30 AM, Eastern), click here.  Get special coverage provided by Margot’s mom Julia, on the scene in Poznan, by visiting her blog here.  Finals (August 29-30) will be streamed here.

Our continued best to Margot and the rest of the team!