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National Team Rowers Join Coaching Staffs at Stanford and UNC

By
Madeline Davis Tully
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sophia luwis lightweight rowing world championship 2023
Photo courtesy of Stanford Athletics.

Both Stanford and UNC announced the addition of national team rowers to their respective coaching staffs. U.S. national teamer Sophia Luwis joined the Stanford lightweight women’s rowing coaching staff while Canadian Kristen Siermachesky was named an assistant coach for the University of North Carolina women.

The Tar Heels announced the addition of Siermachesky to their staff upon her return from the Paris Olympics where she was as an alternate for the silver medal-winning Canadian eight. She began her rowing career as a graduate student at UNC after playing four years of collegiate ice hockey and serving as team captain at Syracuse. Head coach Erin Neppel said of Siermachesky, “She will bring these experiences with her to the team and will be an invaluable resource to these athletes who are striving to be champions. We feel like we have an unbelievable staff here, and having Kristen onboard really completes the circle.” Siermachesky joins two-time NCAA champion Payten Kooyers who was added to the staff in July. Neppel, a Tarheel alum, signed a three-year contract extension this summer as she enters her fourth season a the helm of the UNC program.

Luwis, a graduate of William & Mary, won a bronze medal in the lightweight women’s single at the 2023 World Rowing Championships before being named an alternate for the lightweight squad at this summer’s Paris Olympics. Associate head coach Lizzy Houston said of the addition to her staff, “We are thrilled to welcome Sophia to the Farm! Her experience, great attitude, and love for the sport are undeniable, and I have no doubt that she will make a significant impact on the lightweight team.”

Romania, UK Top Medal Tables At Mega Worlds

By
Chip Davis
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The U.S.men’s under-23 coxed four of coxswain Iliad Izadi, bow Leo Bessler, Braden Porterfield, Miles Hudgins, and stroke Joshua Diggons—coached by Treveor Michelson­— won gold by open water over Italy, France, Australia, and Germany on the Canadian Henley course in St. Catharines, Ont. Photo by Lisa Worthy.

St. Catharines, Ontario—home of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta—hosted all three World Rowing Championships at once on Martindale Pond in late August.

The U.S. won a single gold medal in each of the under-19 and under-23 championships but by winning only a silver medal extended a senior World Rowing Championship gold-medal drought dating to 2019. Host country Canada was completely shut out, winning no medals.
Comprised of 41 events across three typically separate World Rowing Championships, Mega Worlds featured 14 under-19 events, 21 under-23 events, and six senior events. Combined in an Olympic year, as they were in 2016 in Rotterdam, Mega Worlds gives national teams and World Rowing a single destination in a year when they must travel also to the Olympic and Paralympic regattas.

Romania topped the under-19 medal table with four golds. Italy won six total medals, three of them gold, while Greece also won three golds out of four medals total. The U.S. landed sixth on the U19 medals table, with four medals altogether, all in coxed sweep events: a gold in the women’s eight, a silver in the men’s eight, and bronzes in both coxed fours.
Great Britain topped all nations in under-23 events, winning five golds and a bronze. Germany also had a remarkably successful regatta, winning four golds, a silver, and three bronze medals. The U.S. was sixth on the medals table, with a gold and four silvers.
Ireland and Italy tied atop the senior Worlds medal table with a gold and a bronze each. The silver medal in the men’s lightweight quad landed the U.S. tied with Paraguay and Peru in eighth.

While the Olympics and under-19 Worlds have achieved gender equity in number of events, under-23 and senior World Rowing Championships have not, with a combined 15 men’s and 12 women’s events.

The U.S. women’s under-23 coxed four of coxswain Carly Legenzowski, bow Olivia Bachert, Olivia Meskan, Jordan Freer, and stroke Anna Garrison won silver behind New Zealand and ahead of Italy and Canada at the 2024 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, the best finish for the U.S. since 2018. Photo by Lisa Worthy.
The lightweight men’s quad of bow James McCullough, Casey Howshall, Ian Richardson, and stroke Jasper Liu won the sole U.S. medal, a silver, at the senior World Rowing Championships. Mexico won gold, less than four-tenths of a second ahead of the U.S. Photo by Lisa Worthy.
The U.S. eight of Carly Brown, Lauren Dubois, Charlotte Jett, Claire Van Praagh, Cecily Shaber, Lia Nathan, Emily Tierney, Delaney Lundberg, and Lucy Herrick won the World Rowing Under 19 Championships. Coach Caitlin McClain’s crew had an open-water lead at the 1,000-meter mark and crossed the finish line more than five seconds ahead of Great Britain in second place. Photo by Lisa Worthy.
The U.S. men’s under-19 eight of Keenan Heinz, Taeden Landa, Bailey Foster, Ori Radwin, Tyler Murphy, Kyle Fox, Fran McGrath, Hugh Ryan, and Michael Kain finished second to Great Britain to win silver ahead of Germany (bronze), New Zealand, France, and Canada at Mega Worlds. Photo by Lisa Worthy.

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Rowing News
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Paralympic Games Feature: The Brits Dominate

By
Chip Davis
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2024 paralympics paris pr3 mixed double great britain
Gregg Stevenson (stroke) and Lauren Rowles (bow) won the PR2 (formerly known as Trunk and Arms) mixed double sculls at the Paris Paralympics, one of three gold medals for Great Britain. Rowles is now a triple Paralympic champion, having won gold at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 in the PR2 mixed double sculls with Laurence Whiteley. Stevenson served as a Royal Engineer Commando before suffering a traumatic injury in 2009, which led to a double leg amputation. Photo by Mimmo Perna.

Great Britain dominated the 2024 Paralympic regatta, winning three golds and a silver from five total events in Paris on the Vaires-sur-Marne course. The U.S. PR3 mixed coxed four won silver, behind the British and their 14-year unbeaten streak.

The U.S. PR3 mixed double won their B final for seventh overall. Australia, with Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager holding off a challenge from Great Britain in the event, won Australia’s first-ever rowing gold. Israel’s Moran Samuel in the women’s PR1 single was the only other non-British gold medalist. Aussie Erik Horrie, after finishing fourth initially, was upgraded to a bronze in the men’s PR1 single sculls. Italian rower Giacomo Perini was disqualified for allegedly having a “communication device” —a mobile phone—in his boat during the race.

2024 paralympics paris israel pr1 single Moran Samuel
Israel’s Moran Samuel won the women’s PR1 single, the event considered to have started Para rowing over 20 years ago. Samuel, who has competed on the international elite level since 2011, led Norway’s Birgit Lovise Roekkum Skarstein (silver) and France’s Nathalie Benoit (bronze) to the line in one of the closest finals of the Paralympics. Photo by Mimmo Perna.
paralympics 2024 paris pr3 mixed four united states of america usa usrowing
The U.S. PR3 mixed four of coxswain Emelie Eldracher, Alex Flynn, Gemma Wollenschlaeger, and Skyler Dahl won the silver medal at the Paris Paralympics. The young crew—average age 21—briefly led the field at the start of the A final before Great Britain took over. The British crew set a world best time of 6:43 in their heat before winning a fourth-straight Paralympic gold in the event. Photo by Mimmo Perna.

2024 World Rowing Coastal Champions Crowned in Genoa

By
Rowing News
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coastal rowing genoa italy world rowing 2024
Story and photo courtesy of World Rowing.
With a schedule that was altered due to forecast adverse weather, the A finals of the 2024 World Rowing Coastal Championships in Genoa, Italy, were raced a day earlier than originally planned, with all of the new Champions being crowned September 7. Crews from 11 different nations took home medals.

The coastal women’s solo was the first to race, and it saw last year’s champion defend her title. Although Diana Dymchenko was the first across the line, she had unfortunately missed a turning marker and therefore was classified as “Did Not Finish” which meant that Monika Dukarska of Kilorglin Rowing Club (IRL01) defended her be awarded the gold.

The coastal men’s double sculls saw the first of two medals for the Central Sports Club of the Army of Ukraine. The powerful Ukrainian crew forced the duo from Stockholm och Hognas Roddforening (SWE01) into silver medal position, the same that they achieved last year.

The coastal women’s quadruple sculls saw a fast start for Stowarzyszenie Olimpijskie Wygrywamy (POL01), and they led for the majority of the race, but on the final leg, the crew from Hollandia Roeiclub made their move and took the lead. The crew contained the recently-crowned Olympic Champion Karolien Florijn and was coxed by Dieuwke Fetter, who coxed the Dutch men’s eight to an Olympic silver medal in Paris. The Polish crew held on to silver ahead of another stacked crew. The boat from Hakes Bay Rowing Club (NZL01) had three Paris 2024 medallists on board.

All four of the Dutch rowers jumped straight out of the quad and into the double sculls but they weren’t quite able to achieve a second podium – although there were two medals for the Netherlands. The race was led throughout by Austria’s Lobnig sisters. Katharina and Magdalena took silver last year, but this year they reversed the result, beating the same Dutch crew that beat them last year! It was silver for Janneke van der Meulen and Karien Robbers (NED01) with Linn Van Aanholt and Claire De Kok (NED03) taking the bronze.

The coastal men’s solo saw a completely different podium to last year with two of last year’s medallists finishing seventh and eighth. Two Italians made the top three this year, although the gold medal went to New Zealand as Finlay Hamill took the lead in the early stages and crossed the line comfortably ahead of the chasing pack. The silver and bronze medals went to two different Italian Clubs with Davide Mumolo of Gruppo Sportivo della Polizia di Stato “Fiamme Oro” (ITA01) finishing second and Gabriele Loconsole of Canottieri Cernobbio 1901 ASD (ITA02) third.

The coastal men’s quadruple sculls saw a second gold medal for the Central Sports Club of the Army of Ukraine (UKR01) who overtook Italy01 at the first turning buoy. While the silver medal went to Club Remo Guadalquivir 1986 (ESP05) there were more medals for the Florijn family when Hollandia Roeiclub (NED01) worked their way through the field to claim bronze. The crew included Karolien’s brothers, Beer and Finn, alongside Lennart van Lierop and Jan van der Bij. It was the second medal of the day for Dutch cox, Dieuwke Fetter.

The last boat class of the day was the coastal mixed double sculls which saw places traded at the front throughout the race. The Championship title eventually went to Real Circulo de Labradores de Sevilla (ESP03) who had worked their way through the field. C.C.Saturnia -Trieste (ITA02) took the silver while New Zealand Rowing (NZL02) claimed bronze.

Racing returns to the San Nazaro beach in Genoa in just a few days’ time with the 2024 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals taking place 12-15 September. It will be the first time the event has run since it was announced that beach sprint rowing would be added to the Olympic Games programme starting at LA 2028.

Find out more about the 2024 World Rowing Beach Sprint finals here.
For race reports, results and photos go to www.worldrowing.com

New Assistant Rowing Coaches Announced at SMU and USD

By
Madeline Davis Tully
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Photo courtesy of SMU Athletics.

As fall semester classes get underway at universities across the country, coaching moves are still taking place. SMU recently announced the hiring of three new assistant coaches – Max Greer, Gabby Krieger and Susanna Temming – while Sailor Hawes was added to the women’s rowing staff at USD.

Kreiger comes to Dallas after two season with USC, during which time the Trojans twice finished in the top-five at the Pac-12 Championship. An Alabama alum, she began her coaching career at UNC. Greer joins the Mustang staff after serving as the Adult Program Director and an Assistant Coach with the junior men and women at Nashville Rowing. A USRowing Level II Certified Coach and Loyola Maryland alum, Greer also served as the Volunteer Assistant Coach at Vanderbilt University. Finally, Temming, a Texas alum and former member of the Dutch national team, joins SMU after a year spent as an assistant coach for the junior men at Texas Rowing Center. Head coach Chase Graham said of his three new assistant coaches, “Each of them brings a unique set of skills and experience that will be a valuable resource to our staff and student-athletes. Aside from offering their backgrounds in racing at the highest levels of the NCAA, they are all great people and will serve as positive role models for all that get to work with them.”

Sailor Hawes begins her collegiate coaching career at USD after coaching masters at Lake Casitas Rowing Association. Prior to that, Hawes graduated from Gonzaga where she coxed the Varsity 8+ to back-to-back WCC Championships. Speaking about Hawes, Toreros head coach Dave Cormier said, “Her experience as a coxswain and WCC Champion is a fantastic addition to our staff. Her work ethic came through on the very first phone call and our scholar athletes are going to love working with her.”

Training: On the Ball

By
Marlene Royle
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Ball exercises on land develop balance and strength that  transfer to your technique on the water. Here are two exercises to incorporate into your program:

The sitting balance exercise is performed on the inflatable therapy ball that you find in your gym. Select a size that allows you to sit on the ball with your hips square and thighs parallel to the floor so there’s a 90-degree angle behind your knees.

Keep your movements slow and controlled. Focus on maintaining a firm core and lower back. Sit up tall on the ball, place both feet on the floor. With your eyes looking straight ahead, extend your arms out to the side at shoulder height. During the exercise, keep your upper body quiet and shoulders level.

Raise one foot off the floor, straighten out your leg, and keep your balance for a count of 20. Balance with the lower body only. Maintain a quiet upper body, shoulders level. Now try the other leg for a count of 20.

Once you’ve mastered balancing with one leg off the ground, it’s time to balance with both legs raised—parallel to the floor—as you would sit in the boat. Again, focus on your center of gravity, keeping your hips square to balance on the ball. Work up to a count of 20. Repeat three times.

The seated rock-back is a dynamic core exercise to strengthen the transition from the finish position to the recovery. Sit on the ball with your back straight, pelvis in neutral, arms crossed on your chest or placed behind your head, chin tucked in.

Engage your lower abdominals by drawing your belly button inward and activating your pelvic-floor muscles. Maintain steady abdominal breathing while you lean back into the finish position, then return to the sitting position. Your feet must stay planted on the floor firmly just as you would stay connected to your foot stretcher at the release.

Begin with three sets of 12 repetitions and build up to three sets of 20 repetitions.

2024 Beach Sprint U.S. National Team Roster Announced

By
Madeline Davis Tully
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beach sprints mixed double
Photo courtesy of USRowing.

USRowing announced the U.S. national team roster for the 2024 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, held in Genoa, Italy on September 13-15. The U.S. will compete in all ten events – men’s and women’s solo, U19 solo, double sculls and the mixed double sculls, mixed U19 double sculls, mixed quadruple sculls and the PR3 mixed double sculls.

This year’s roster features ten returning athletes who competed at the 2023 Beach Sprints Finals where the U.S. won five medals, including a gold in the mixed quadruple sculls with coxswain. Six rowers will be making their beach sprints finals debut, including Paralympian Danielle Hansen.

Beach Sprints was added to the Olympic program for the LA 2028 Games.

2024 Beach Sprint U.S. National Team Roster 

Men’s Solo
Chris Bak

Women’s Solo
Christine Cavallo

U19 Men’s Solo
Ronan Maher

U19 Women’s Solo
Annelise Hahl

Mixed Double Sculls
Christine Cavallo (s)
Kory Rogers (b)

U19 Men’s Double Sculls
Colton Seidel (s)
Nathaniel Pegg (b)

U19 Women’s Double Sculls
Annelise Hahl (s)
Annalie Duncomb (b)

U19 Mixed Double Sculls
Ronan Maher (s)
Melanie Wotovich (b)

U19 Mixed Double Sculls
Ronan Maher (s)
Melanie Wotovich (b)

PR3 Mixed Double Sculls
Danielle Hansen (s)
Gary Rought (b)

Mixed Quadrupple Sculls with Coxswain
Coral Marie Kasden (c)
Malachi Anderson (s)
Sierra Bishop (3)
Cassidy Norton (2)
Justin Stevens (b)

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