Kevin Meador said before Olympic trials even began Monday morning in Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. that he was expecting to be in a fight unlike one he has ever experienced before in his time rowing the single.
“I would not be surprised if it turns out to be the most competitive domestic men’s single race in the last several years that I have been participating in the event, and whoever wins will most likely not have an easy time doing so,” was what he said.
He was right.
By the time the Tuesday heats had concluded, the field of 25 that included some of the best men’s single scullers in the country over the last few years — including Meador who represented the U.S. at the 2019 and 2018 World Rowing Championships — had been narrowed to 12 who had not yet earned a place in the semifinal, and were facing a last effort in the Wednesday reps.
Of that group, only four would advance. So, when Riverside Boat Club’s Meador went to the start Wednesday, he was looking at a win or go home situation.
“I’ve certainly had to deal with some harsh reality the last few days,” Meador said. “There are a lot of fast athletes putting down fast times, which I expected, and I’ve been lagging pretty far behind.”
“I’ve certainly had to deal with some harsh reality the last few days,” Meador said. “There are a lot of fast athletes putting down fast times, which I expected, and I’ve been lagging pretty far behind.”
-Kevin Meador
Not Wednesday morning though.
Meador had his best row so far in the week-long regatta and advanced to the Thursday semifinal, winning his three-boat rep and moving to the semifinal. Advancing from the other three reps were Casey Fuller from Maritime Rowing Club, and Michael Clougher, unaffiliated, and Craftsbury’s William Legenzowski.
“Certainly, puts doubts in my head,” Meador said of having to row the last chance race. “But I suppose it’s not over until it’s over and every day is a new race. I am glad to be able to stay in the event, and I am excited to get to go down the course again.”
Meador was one of 14 crews that advanced into either the semifinals or finals being contested in the five event regatta. Four crews advanced to Thursday semifinals in the men’s and women’s single, men’s double, and women’s lightweight double.
The men’s lightweight double had only seven entries and does not require a semifinal.
If there was any consolation to having to row the extra day it was the conditions. The course in Nathan Benderson Park has been windy for days, hampering practice ability, and making for slower times and bumpy trips down the course.
Wednesday morning, the wind was still, the water flat and the times fast, or at least faster than they have been.
“I think the conditions certainly improved today, which is accounting for the lions share in the time differences,” Meador said.
“But I hope I am also piecing things together one race at a time, getting back some racing boat feel. I certainly hope that my momentum will continue forward over the course of the regatta, hopefully enough to carry me through tomorrow’s semifinal. But racing will be tight and there are no guarantees.”
While Meador was not pleased with having to race Wednesday, the experience was not the same for all. Advancing from the four women’s singles reps were ARION’s Kristina Wagner, Boston Rowing Federation’s Alison Rusher and Margaret Fellows, and Craftsbury’s Jennifer Forbes.
Wagner has been in the fight all week, finishing fourth in the time trial just ahead of Cicely Madden, who placed fifth behind her. Madden and Wagner were lined up against each other in the heat. Madden beat her to the finish in one of the closer races Tuesday.
Wednesday morning Wagner won her rep and posted the best time of the four races.
“It’s really fun getting to race again,” Wagner said. “It’s been a while, so I’m just grateful for more opportunities to go down the course. I’m excited to see what I can do tomorrow and try to keep my week going.”
Wagner will race Madden again in her Thursday semifinal, along with Kohler and Forbes.
While Wagner and Meador fought to avoid the rep, Ali Rusher took a more measured approach after seeing the lineup for the heats. Rusher drew Kara Kohler, one of the top contenders among the women, Kohler is a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and the current 2019 world championship bronze medalist in the women’s single, and Wagner began planning for the reps.
“I saw that Kara Kohler was in my heat, and so I wasn’t really planning on trying to beat her then,” Rusher said. “I just wanted to put together a strong showing in the heat and I figured I would head to the rep, so I was actually pretty happy with how the race went (Tuesday.)
“I haven’t really raced in the single that much,” said Rusher who rowed at Stanford, before joining the U.S. national team sweep system, and then finally switched to sculling last year. “The more races I get, the better. Going into the reps today, I was a little bit nervous. I’ve done a rep before, but not often.
“One of my Stanford teammates (Emily Delleman) was in my rep today. We’ve raced together before, and I just wanted to get off the line cleanly and race the first 750 really strong. Then I saw that they were both still hanging with me so I just kind of kept it long and strong through the finish.”
In the men’s double reps, two crews advanced to the semifinals from the one rep. It was scheduled to be a four-boat race, but Thomas Graves and Peter Graves withdrew, leaving three boats. Craftsbury’s Webster Thompson and Andrew Raitto advanced in first, followed by Connor Corwen and Paul Verni, from New York Athletic Club.
The lightweight women’s double also featured a single rep and advanced two crews. The unaffiliated entry of Erin Roberts and Hillary Saeger advanced in first, followed by the Vesper Boat Club/GMS Rowing Center composite crew, Solveig Imsdahl and Margaret Bertasi.
The men’s lightweight double had two reps scheduled with one crew from each going to the Friday final. In the first rep, the unaffiliated/Riverside Boat Club entry of Alex Twist and Hugh McAdam earned a place for Friday, while Vesper Boat Clubs’ Cooper Tuckerman and Charles Bickhart advanced from the second rep.
Tuckerman and Bickhart join two other Vesper crews in the four-boat final.
With Olympic Trials I passed the first two days, Wednesday is the last chance for crews that have not yet advanced to more into the Thursday semifinals or Friday finals.
There are still eight unfilled slots for the semifinals in the men’s and women’s singles, four slots in the men’s double, and two slots in the lightweight women’s double. With only seven crews entered in the men’s lightweight double event, two crews will advance directly into the four-boat final.
There are four repechages each in the singles events with three athletes racing. Only the winners can advance. For the men’s double, there is one rep of four crews, top two move to the semifinals. The women’s lightweight double has one rep of three crews with the top two advancing.
For the men’s lightweight double, there are two reps, with three and two crews racing. The winners will advance to the Friday final.
Racing is scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM. Full lineups and results can be found here.
Semifinals and finals will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
Kara Kohler was feeling nervous Tuesday morning while getting ready to go to Nathan Benderson Park for the second day of Olympic trials racing. It was not that she didn’t know what to expect, Kohler has been an elite national team rower since she was an undergraduate at the University of California.
She has raced as a member of seven U.S. national teams, won a bronze medal in the quad in London in the 2012 Olympics, and in 2019 placed third in the single at the World Rowing Championship, collecting another bronze medal and qualifying the boat class for the Tokyo Games.
She knows what it is like to race in big races.
Tuesday did not qualify as a huge race, not really. It was the heats of the women’s single, one of five events being contested in Sarasota, Fla. Kohler had the fastest time in the Monday time trials, and short of some unexpected difficulty, she was favored to win her heat and advance directly to the Thursday semifinal.
Still, like everyone else racing Tuesday at the trials, there was a lot on the line – in the case of the women’s single a direct path to the 2021 Olympic team. Of the five events being run, only the women’s single is qualified.
The nerves were understandable. Yes, there would be a second chance if something caused her not to advance, but it would not be the best possible result.
Add to that the pressure of not having raced next to another boat since 2019 – time trials don’t count in that regard – it’s just one athlete at a time rowing against the clock for seeding.
“There was a lot of anticipation with that long year off,” Kohler said about finally getting to race next to another competitor. “There was a lot of excitement, but still lots of nerves.”
“There was a lot of anticipation with that long year off,” Kohler said about finally getting to race next to another competitor. “There was a lot of excitement, but still lots of nerves.”
-Kara Kohler
That evaporated quickly enough, apparently. After taking the lead from the start, Kohler built enough of a cushion in the first half of the course to back off in the second thousand and row comfortably into the finish.
“It’s like riding a bike, you don’t forget,” she said about getting settled. “It’s exciting just to get back into the race routine. There was a pretty consistent headwind on the course, but I raced the first half of the race and then had a comfortable enough lead to row steadily to the finish,” she said.
Her win, like it did for the rest of the 22 crews that advanced into either the Thursday semifinals or Friday finals, earned her some time to sleep Wednesday morning and to get some relaxation time.
“It’s a relief to have a day to calm the nervous system, recover and then build back up for the semis on Thursday,” Kohler said. “It’s been hard to get good sleep the past couple of days with getting up really early for these races. I’m looking forward to a day to unwind and then building back up for Thursday.”
That day off will be a high-pressure day for the rest of the crews that can only advance to the next level of their event through the Wednesday morning reps.
Also, advancing directly from the Tuesday morning four-lane heats in the women’s single were Cambridge Boat Club’s Gevvie Stone and Cicely Madden, and Sophia Vitas from the U.S. women’s Princeton Training Center.
Of those races, the outcomes were mostly foreseeable based on the times that were rowed in the time trials. That was not the case for Madden, who was lined up against ARION’s Kristina Wagner. Wagner bested Madden’s Monday trials time, but by a hair.
“Definitely looking at the times from the time trial, things were pretty close,” she said. “I knew it was going to be a hard race, and I always go into a race ready. I never take anything for granted and race as hard as I can.
“It’s been a really tough training year for everyone, adapting to the pandemic and doing what we can. Our group in Boston had to move around our training centers to work with the pandemic, so all that work is paying off and we’re excited to race finally,” Madden said.
In Tuesday’s race, Madden took the lead from the start and held to the end with Wagner by just about 2.5 seconds.
Madden’s training group also included her 2019 world championship doubles partner, Gevvie Stone. Stone is as familiar with this level of racing as anyone. She is a two-time Olympian, representing the US in the event in London, and then winning a silver medal in Rio in 2016.
Kohler beat Stone in the 2019 world championship trials on this same course. Stone understands the idea that these races can cause nerves, but said she always looks forward to the racing.
“It’s something you don’t get to do often, so part of it is familiar, and part of it is still adrenaline boosting and exciting. We train a lot for not a lot of races, and so, yes, I know how to do it but it still has a novelty and excitement every time you get out there on the start line.
“(Tuesday) was a not super exciting race,” Stone said. “I was able to get out early and control the race from there. It’s always good to get one step closer and another step of the way done. And I can’t complain about a day off in between.”
In the men’s single event 16 scullers raced for the chance to earn the extra day, but only four will be sleeping in Wednesday.
Finishing with the best overall time of the four heats was Malta Boat Club’s Lenny Futterman, 29, one of the older athletes in the event, who after 14-years in the sport, has decided that this will be his last competitive year and is taking the racing, not casually, but with a clear understanding of where he is in his rowing career and life.
“It’s great to be able to race again,” said Futterman. “I predominantly train alone, so it’s great being next to someone, to be able to race again. That’s the fun part of the sport.” Asked if he was experiencing any nervousness about the rest of the week, Futterman said no.
“Not really, it’s all going to happen. I’ve kind of gone into this knowing it is no secret that this is my last run at things. And, the thing that’s been great about the last year is being able to understand the role of sport in my life.
“I love this sport, and I’ve been doing it for 14 years, since I was a freshman in high school. But it’s just rowing when it comes down to it. You go out to try to win a race, but if you don’t win, it’s not like you had a million-dollar contract that isn’t getting fulfilled.”
John Graves, who raced in the first of the four heats, has also been clear that this is his last time chasing an Olympic berth. He has rowed on multiple national teams and just missed out on the 2012 Games at the final qualification regatta in the quad.
Graves had the best time of the time trials and was rowing in a group that included Kevin Meador, who represented the U.S. at the 2019 world championships and beat Graves in the heats of those trials.
Graves said he was not thinking about that yesterday.
“I am definitely just trying to focus on what I can control, staying internal, finding my rhythm and holding that throughout regardless of who I’m up against,” Graves said. “Kevin has a lot of speed, and ultimately, today was just the heat and I want to keep progressing and trying to step on it every day.”
But he said he was also definitely looking for a win and a day off.
“That’s important and with the four-lane progression,” Graves said. “It’s definitely key to win the heat and get the rest. I’m just going to stay internal and practice and have fun out there. Just looking to have my best practice tomorrow.”
In the men’s heavy double, the pressure was not just on winning, but placing top two. Those to crews from the three-heats advanced to the semifinals. For the largest group of scullers is competing for Philadelphia’s Penn A.C. Rowing Association. There are three doubles racing and all three have advanced.
“So far things are going well, and as expected, so I am happy about that,” said Penn A.C. coach Sean Hall. “For my doubles, today was their first 2k in these lineups, and for the entire squad, the first 2k piece since October, so I can’t complain,” he said.
“And I think they will continue to adapt and improve throughout the regatta. We have a few rough edges to smooth out, but this is exactly why we’re doing this.”
Penn A.C. finished first and second in the first heat, and second in the third behind Craftsbury’s Jacob Plihal and Mark Couwenhoven, who have been setting the pace in the event with the best overall finishing times both days of racing.
“It was great,” Plihal said. “We just wanted to go out and have a solid piece to get straight through into the semis and have an extra day to rest and practice. Conditions were pretty challenging today, pretty heavy headwind, so we learned a few more things we can work on in the coming days,” he said.
“Other than that, it was good execution and the first step on the side-by-side racing. I know those (Penn A.C.) guys are all pretty feisty racers, and they’re quick, so we’re trying to see who is the best. I think it will be fun. I’m excited for it.”
The women’s light double heats were also advancing two crews to the finals from three heats. That event is stacked with a mix of some very experienced women, some of who have been racing both with, and against, each other for years.
That experience and speed came through in the top three finishing crews, the composite Cambridge Boat Club/Sarasota Crew entry of Michelle Sechser and Molly Reckford, Cambridge Boat Club’s Mary Nabel and Emily Schmieg, and Craftsbury’s Grace Joyce and Christine Cavallo.
Sechser and Reckford ripped up the time trials, finishing 17 seconds ahead of the field and posted the best overall time in the heats Tuesday. But the other two crews rowed comparable times through the first half of the race, marking the event as a tight as possible semifinal to come.”
“We’re just taking it one race at a time,” said Schmieg who won silver in the 2018 world championships with Nabel. Nabel missed the 2019 season recovering from an injury, but the pair have been rowing together again since before the 2020 season was canceled.
But, this is the first time they have been able to race together since 2018.
“It’s been a bit since we raced the double,” said Schmieg. “Semis are always a bit of a barn burner, so one semi will have two of the top three crews. That one might be a little bit more difficult than the other. But honestly, I don’t know where anybody’s at, really. The time trial is such funny thing with conditions down here yesterday.
“It was just an interesting tail wind. Today was way more consistent, but most of the heats were just set up where you got one boat out in front and nobody is really racing the back thousand. It should be some good racing,” she said.
For Grace and Cavallo this is their first-time racing as a crew.
“It’s going to be a tough semi,” Cavallo said. “But it’s also Olympic trials. So, I would hope it’s a tough semi. Ideally this regatta produces someone who could qualify at FOQR and go onto medal at Olympics,” she said.
“At this point, it feels like we’re all cracking the whip for each other. This is the most fun I’ve had racing in a while, both because of Covid delays and beyond, so I’m happy to be happy. We are savoring the chance for two more trips down the course.”
“At this point, it feels like we’re all cracking the whip for each other. This is the most fun I’ve had racing in a while, both because of Covid delays and beyond, so I’m happy to be happy. We are savoring the chance for two more trips down the course.”
-Christine Cavallo
In the final event of the day, the men’s light double, with only seven crews entered, the winners of the two heats moved directly into the Friday final. Vesper also has three crews racing and two of them, Zachary Heese and Jasper Liu, and James McCullough and Joshua Remland, have made the final.
Heese and Liu have led the field both days.
“It was a good morning,” said Liu. “It was a slow day because of the wind out there. The weather forecasts have been pretty accurate, you could see it was windy for the women, but the water was still flat, but it was building throughout the morning.
“It was our first side by side racing since worlds in 2019 (both raced in the light quad), so it was a long-awaited race. We were confident coming in just looking at some of the past results,” he said.
“And we’ve been training next to the other Vesper boats in camp in Austin. The OKC double had come down to Austin for a week of training camp, so we kind of knew the speed of those guys. But it felt great to finally get out there and line up next to people, and put down a fast piece.
“We have nothing now till Friday. “We’re going to be pretty bored.”
The men’s and women’s singles have been thinned out and the heats in all five events being raced in Olympic Trials I at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota. Fla. have been set, meaning the second day of racing is going to get intense.
Of the 58 crews racing, only 20 crews win a placement into the Thursday semifinals and earn a day off from racing while the rest fight it out on Wednesday in the reps. In the case of the lightweight men’s double, two crews will advance directly to the Friday finals. Among the 16 of 35 women, and 16 of 24 men left standing after Monday’s time trials, four from each group will advance directly to the semis.
In the men’s double, six of 10 crews will avoid the reps. Among the lightweight women’s doubles, nine crews will race for six direct placings, while the lightweight men’s double will see two of seven crews earn the extra day off.
There are 16 heats on the schedule and with crews racing side-by-side instead of against the clock in the time trial, and a chance to race in the Olympic or the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta on the line, crews will be battling start to finish.
Look no further for an example of how tight the crews could be than the very first heat of the day, the women’s single race featuring Craftsbury’s Erin Boxburger, Cambridge Boat Club’s Cicely Madden, ARION’s Kristina Wagner, and Emily Huelskamp from the women’s national team Princeton Training Center.
The difference in Monday times between Madden in lane 2 and Wagner in lane 3 was razor thin, 7:19.90 for Madden and 7:19.67 for Wagner.
In the men’s heats, while the difference in times is not as close, John Graves who posted the best time Monday of 6:37.20 is lining up in the men’s first heat next to Kevin Meador, 6:49.24 in the time trial. Graves and Meador have battled back and forth in previous years and during training this summer and fall in Boston.
In the doubles events, the top seeds in the three men’s heavyweight heats should advance. After that it will be tight. The same should be true in the three lightweight women’s double heats with two to advance to the semifinal.
In the men’s lightweight division, only one boat will advance from the two heats.
Through the months of planning for the first U.S. Olympic rowing trials, the idea that most of the winning crews racing in Sarasota, Fla. this week would not get the opportunity to earn a place in the Tokyo Olympics lingered in the background.
Of the five events being contested at Nathan Benderson Park, only the women’s single was previously qualified to race in Tokyo at the 2019 World Rowing Championships by Kara Kohler, who took bronze there.
The rest of the boat classes — the men’s single, men’s double, and the men’s and women’s lightweight doubles, all missed automatic qualification in 2019 — and would have to race at the 2021 Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne in May.
World Rowing had already set the dates for when that regatta would take place, but it was just a date, and the decision to hold the regatta had not been made. So, even as they were practicing and preparing to begin racing Monday morning, there was no clear answer about what would come next for most of the athletes.
That answer finally came just about the time racing was to begin at 8:00 AM when World Rowing announced that it was going ahead with the qualifier, as well as World Rowing Cup II (also in Lucerne in May), and the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta, set to take place in Gavirate, Italy in June.
“Following extensive discussions with all key stakeholders and applying the previously published decision-making framework, the World Rowing Executive Committee has verified that preparations for the three events conform with the World Rowing requirements and confirms that the three regattas will take place as planned,” World Rowing announced in its statement Monday morning.
The announcement keeps alive chances for six US crews to race in Tokyo, including the crews racing this week and the men’s pair and quad, which will race in the next U.S. trials in April.
“I knew the decision was coming today but didn’t hear until I got off the water,” said John Graves. Graves is hoping to get the chance to race in Lucerne and earn a place in the Olympics in the men’s single. “It was definitely nice to get some positive news and allows all of us going for non-qualified boats to rest easy and just focus on the task at hand this week.”
The good news came just after a good race for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project sculler. Graves placed first in his time trial finishing in 6:37.20 He was followed by Leonard Futterman of Malta Boat Club in 6:39.35 and Penn A.C. Rowing Association’s Thomas Phifer in 6:41.10.
“That was a solid piece and felt great to be out there again,” Graves said.
Graves’ race was the second event of the morning and followed the women’s singles time trial. The winner of that event will be the first U.S. rower named to the 2021 Olympic team.
Kohler, one of five women entered from the USRowing Princeton Women’s Training Center, was among the 35 women racing and finished with the fastest time of the day in 7:08.61, followed in second by Cambridge Boat Club’s Gevvie Stone, who rowed the course in 7:11.83. Third best time of the morning – 7:19.08 – belonged to Princeton Training Center’s Sophia Vitas.
Kohler and Stone advanced to the Tuesday semifinals along the other top 16 finishers.
“Tomorrow when we get to be side by side it will feel more like racing,” Stone said. “As for today, it’s always good to dust off the cobwebs, the pre-race routine, and to get going. A bonus was the great conditions after a bunch of rough water days recently.”
The men’s heavyweight double must also go to Lucerne. That event had 10 crews racing. Craftsbury’s Jacob Plihal and Mark Couwenhoven posted the best time in 6:08.85, followed closely by Charles Anderson and Finn Putnam of Penn A.C. in 6:09.50. The Vesper Boat Club and Oklahoma City High Performance Center composite entry of Kevin Cardno and Jonathan Kirkegaard took the third best time in 6:12.76.
“It was great to be back out on the course again, seeing the buoys pass by with each stroke,” said Plihal. “We had a decent piece and have some things to iron out in the next race. Mark and I are excited to line up side by side with some crews tomorrow for the heats.
“I saw the news that world rowing had confirmed the FOQR this morning before we launched. It was great to see, as most of the crews racing here this week are reliant on a good finish in Lucerne to qualify for Tokyo. It definitely provides a degree of reassurance and motivation for the racing to come.”
Like it was for the other athletes in non-qualified crews, hearing the news that the qualifier had been confirmed was a lift for the athletes racing in the men’s and women’s lightweight doubles.
For the women, leading the time trial field by 17 seconds were Michelle Sechser and Molly Reckford, who are rowing as a composite entry from Cambridge Boat Club and Sarasota Crew. Mary Nabel and Emily Schmieg from Cambridge Boat Club and Potomac Boat Club finished second in 6:47.29, followed by Craftsbury’s Grace Joyce and Christine Cavallo in 6:47.37.
Sechser and Reckford were still waiting to get on the water when the news was announced. “It was fantastic news to hear that FOQR was confirmed before launching,” Sechser. “It helped silence any lurking doubts that I’m sure everyone in a not-yet-qualified boat class is feeling.
“Being back out there on the start line again was amazing,” she said. “It felt like coming home. We have a long week of racing ahead, but it felt great to get our first trip down the course as a double combination.”
For the lightweight men, Vesper Boat Club’s Zachary Heese and Jasper Liu took the top spot in their race, rowing the course in 6:06.92. Teammates James McCullough and Joshua Remland finishing behind them in 6:13.82. The composite Riverside Boat Club/Unaffliated crew of Alex Twist and Hugh McAdam finished third in 6:16.68.
“We didn’t try to do anything special,” Liu said. “We just wanted to put down a solid piece that represented all the training we’ve put in and set us up well for the heats. The (FOQR) confirmation is great news.
“From what I’ve seen recently, people will do everything they can to let sporting events go ahead,” he said. “So not entirely surprised. We’re racing hard this week regardless and hope to earn the chance to go.”
*This page will be regularly updated throughout the event.
Day One Coverage:
Men’s Lightweight Double Time Trial Results
STAFF REPORTS PHOTOS BY LISA WORTHY
The crew of Jasper Liu and Zachary Heese representing Vesper took the top spot in the men’s lightweight double event finishing with a time of 6:06.92.
Their teammates James McCullough and Joshua Remland weren’t too far behind finishing with a time of 6:13.82 in the second place spot with the Riverside composite entry rounding out the top three.
The men’s lightweight double time trial concludes the first day of racing. Full story to follow.
Michelle Sechser and Mary Reckford in the women’s lightweight Double time trial. Photo by Lisa Worthy.
Women’s Lightweight Double Time Trial Results
Michelle Sechser and Mary Reckford were the fastest crew in the women’s lightweight Double time trial finishing a hefty 17 seconds ahead of the second-place crew.
In second and third positions, the margin was significantly more narrow with less than one-tenth of a second separating the two composite crews.
Jacob Plihal and Mark Couwenhoven racing in the men’s double time trial. Photo by Lisa Worthy.
Men’s Double Time Trial Results
In the men’s double Green Racing Project’s Jacob Plihal and Mark Couwenhoven finished first with a time of 6:08.85 narrowly edging out Charles Anderson and Eliot Putnam on the clock by less than one second.
The Vesper/OKC composite of Kevin Cardno and Jonathan Kirkegaard rounded out the top three four seconds off of first.
Kara Kohler in the women’s single event. Photo by Lisa Worthy.
Women’s Single Time Trial Results Official
With the first race of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team Trials I concluded the results yielded some expected outcomes.
Kara Kohler took the top spot with a time of 7:08.61 beating out Gevvie Stone on the clock by three seconds. Sophia Vitas representing the Princeton Training Center rounded out the top three with a time of 7:19.08.
After a year of waiting to get on the water and race for a chance to compete in the postponed 2021 Tokyo Olympics, crews in five events will be making their way to the start platform at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. for the first races of the week in the United States Olympic Trials I.
Racing is being contested in the men’s and women’s single, the men’s heavyweight double, and the men’s and women’s lightweight double. Except for the women’s single, which was qualified as a boat class for Tokyo at the 2019 World Championships, the crews are racing for a chance to represent the U.S. at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland in May.
Racing begins Monday with a time trial in all events. Heats will be run Tuesday with reps on Wednesday. Semifinals and finals are scheduled for Thursday and Friday morning. Racing Monday through Thursday is set to start at 8 AM. Finals will go off at 8:30 AM.
As in anything involving running an event during the Covid pandemic, there is a significant chance that something could happen that would cause an interruption, or that infections would turn up among either athletes or event participants and organizers.
And in the case of the first 2021 Olympic trials being run by USRowing in Sarasota, Fla., both of those things have happened ahead of the start of racing Monday morning.
On Saturday practice was suspended when 25 people were denied access to the venue at Nathan Benderson Park because they had not gotten their results from pre-arrival and travel testing in time, some due in part to weather related delivery problems.
And on Saturday night, pre-event testing conducted on site Friday returned two positive results.
In emails sent Saturday night, everyone connected to the event was notified of the results and it is apparent that none of the 120 athletes waiting to race were exposed. “No athletes have been identified as having high-risk contact through contact tracing,” the email stated.
Having two incidents develop before racing has even started, might seem alarming, but to Matt Imes, USRowing director of high performance and one of the people on point for seeing that the trails go as best they can, it is an indication that the plans they have put in place are working. Practice resumed Sunday and there is no current interruption to racing beginning Monday morning.
“We’ve spent weeks and weeks and hundreds of hours of planning in preparation to make this the safest event as possible that we can,” Imes said Sunday morning. “What we’re doing is exactly what we said we would do in the process of running this.”
According to Imes, the complete Covid mitigation plan for the event are posted in detail on USRowing’s trials coverage page. Those plans call for anyone arriving to the venue to practice before the weekend had to present proof of a positive test, that USRowing would conduct a pre-event test on Friday and should any associated individual test positive, contact tracing would be done.
So far, the planning has worked to keep the athletes, coaches, and event staff as safe as possible, Imes said.
According to Imes, the only interruption was a brief halt in practice Saturday. Imes said 25 people were unable to get the results from their pre-arrival to the venue tests and because they were not allowed to practice, it was determined that it would give an “unfair advantage” to those who were able to get results.
“There were people who could not practice because they had done what we asked them and had taken the test, and through no fault of their own, were not getting a test result. So, we decided not to let anyone go on the water.”
According to USRowing Covid plans, everyone involved in the event in anyway had to be on site for testing Friday. Those tests were conducted on the venue and the samples were hand delivered to a lab in New York City to ensure the results would be returned on time.
“People had to pre-test when we came down here, before we started the event, we ran everybody through a PCR test that they took on Friday morning,” Imes said. “We got those results last night and we are following the processes and procedures for those test results.
“Just like every event in every sport that’s going on, there are positive tests, and we’ve got positive. It’s really unfortunate. But we’re looking for the safety and welfare of everyone involved, and we’re putting the necessary resources around those people who have tested positive.
Imes said privacy laws do not allow him to identify who tested positive, or even what specific role they have at these trials. “These people were not symptomatic, they were fine and they the testing process caught this, which is what it is supposed to do.”
Imes said with everything about Covid, there is no predicting what will happen next, but he said he is confident everything is being done to keep everyone safe and hold a successful event.
“There is still a lot to go, we’ve still got seven days down here,” he said. “We’re still working through all of this and doing the best we can to keep this as safe and efficient an event as possible.
“Our goal is that we run a safe event, that has given every athlete here a fair opportunity for them to show their best speed. We’re doing everything we can. I believe how this was handled and how the athletes have been doing social distancing and stuff has been amazing,” he said.
“People are following the protocol, they’re wearing masks, they are keeping socially distant and that all helps. If someone turns up with symptoms and then there is positive contact tracing, everything could change in a five-minute span, from we’re really confident about running the event, to this event is being cancelled.
