The U.S men’s eight posted the faster time, 5:29 into a headwind, of the two heats in winning theirs—Great Britain won the other in 5:37—and advanced directly to the Saturday final. Non-winners must race in Thursday’s repechage for the remain four lanes.

“That went to plan,” said University of Washington coach Michael Callahan, who is coaching the U.S. men’s eight at these Olympic Games. “We were always planning to win the heat, and if you have that extra day, it’s 72 hours of rest going into the final.”

The U.S women’s eight finished second to an impressive-looking Romanian eight, who are the reigning world champions and clear favorites.

The U.S. men’s four won its heat to advance directly to Thursday’s final, while two other crews moved onto the semifinals on Sunday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Racing in the second of two heats, the men’s four of Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club), Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club), and Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club) took the lead off the opening strokes and held nearly a one-second advantage over Australia 500 meters into the race. The U.S. continued to power away from the field during the middle 1,000 meters, taking an open-water lead over the Aussie crew as the boats entered the final sprint. The American boat cruised to the finish, winning by just under a length in a 6:04.95. Australia finished second, claiming the other spot in the final in a 6:06.84.

“It felt solid,” Best said. “It was exciting. We’ve been building up a lot of excitement to get out there and race again. We had a lot of good momentum coming from World Cup II, and we all kind of knew, ‘Let’s get back to the work. There’s still the Olympics to get ready for.’ I think over the last few weeks we were at a training camp in Italy, and we were really excited to let it rip (down) the course. Coming through the last 250 (meters), that was incredible hearing all the audience. That was a first time for me to hear something that loud doing the sport I love.”

“One unique thing about this lineup and this crew is we’ve been together so long relative to other American crews in the past,” Mead said. “We have a ton of confidence in each other. We’ve been rowing together for about a year and training together for five or six years, so it’s a huge advantage when we come to these races knowing I don’t have to worry about what the guys in front of me are going to do. I know that they are going to execute the plan like we’ve talked about and that brings a relaxation and freedom to the race that in the past we’ve not had.”

In the lightweight women’s double sculls, Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Cambridge Boat Club) and Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/New York Athletic Club) finished second in the second of three heats to advance to Wednesday’s semifinals. With two to advance, Romania’s Ionela Livia Cozmiuc and Gianina Elena van Groningen jumped out to the early lead ahead of the U.S. crew and the Peruvians. In the second quarter of the race, Romania continued to extend its advantage while the U.S. pulled away from Peru to solidify the second qualification spot. At the line, Romania crossed in a 7:03.83, with the U.S. clocking a 7:12.65.

“Whether we advanced out of the heat or went to the rep, it would have been the best possible scenario because that’s the mindset that we come into this with,” Sechser said. “Not the margins that we were hoping to see for our first race out of the blocks, but every race is so different, and we’re excited to get some time to sit down as a crew tonight and see where we’re going to make some adjustments for the semifinal.”

“We’ve never raced with so many fans before, so that is both exciting and a fun new challenge,” Reckford said. “We had talked about this, but those grandstands are only going to get louder, so it’s going to be harder and harder for Michelle to hear me and even harder for me to hear her, and that’s something that we’re just going to figure out.”

Racing in the first heat of the women’s pair, Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) and Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif./Stanford University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) advanced to the semifinals thanks to a third-place finish. With three to advance, the U.S. duo settled into third position in the first 500 meters, sitting a length ahead of fourth-place Denmark. Thoennes and Czajkowski continued to pull away from Denmark over the middle 1,000 meters to comfortably secure their qualifying spot.

“Both of us were really excited to get this opportunity (to race),” Thoennes said. “We worked really hard for it. We know how incredibly good this field is, so today was just fun – just rip it off and let’s see.”

The Netherlands’ Veronique Meester and Ymkje Clevering, the defending world champions, rowed away from Lithuania’s Leva Adomaviciute and Kamile Kralikaite over the second half of the race to earn an easy victory, crossing the line in a 7:17.81. The Lithuanians finished second in a 7:22.53, with the U.S. crossing in third in a 7:25.52. The U.S. now will race in the semifinals on Wednesday.

“The workouts at pace leading up to this are what we look forward to the most, so it’s so nice to just be racing other crews instead of the clock,” Czajkowski said. “This was a really good first shot, and we have more to go, so excited to race again.”

The women’s four of Kaitlin Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Mary Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club) finished fourth in the first heat and will now race in Tuesday’s repechage. The crew sat in fourth position the entire way down the course. China led off the start before New Zealand took over the top spot at the midway point, just ahead of Great Britain. The British crew then powered into the lead in the third 500 meters and rowed to nearly a three-second victory. Great Britain finished with a time of 6:42.57, with New Zealand claiming the second spot in the final in a 6:45.44. The U.S. finished third in a 6:49.66, just behind China. The U.S. will take on Denmark, Ireland, China, and Australia in the repechage, with the top two finishers advancing to the race for the medals and the remaining crews heading to the B final for overall places 7-9.

“It was exciting to get our first Olympic race,” Knifton said. “Now, we’re really excited moving forward just to keep improving and see the potential of our boat.”

“This four has been through a bucket, a lineup switch with our ports. We’ve tried a bunch of different things to see what feels best and this lineup has always felt very natural,” Reelick said. “It’s been really fun, and I do feel like we’re a still a new crew, so we’re learning every week, a small epiphany of some sort, but I think we have the things that it takes to put together a good race.”

In the first heat of the men’s pair, Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College/California Rowing Club) and Billy Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College/California Rowing Club) finished fifth and will race in Monday’s repechage for a second chance to move on to the semifinals. Bub and Bender got off the line in fifth and were never able to challenge the top four crews, who battled it out in a photo finish for the three qualifying spots. Spain’s Javier Garcia Ordonez and Jaime Canalejo Pazos edged out New Zealand’s Phillip Wilson and Daniel Williamson to win the race in a 6:32.28. Ireland’s Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney took third ahead of Switzerland’s Andrin Gulich and Roman Roeoesli, the defending world champions, to grab the last qualifying spot in the semifinals. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:02.62 and will take on Australia, Switzerland, and Italy in the repechage.

“We had some stiff competition, but you know, it’s the Olympics, so every boat is going to be fast, so we approached it to race it,” Bub said. “It wasn’t our best piece, but luckily we have another shot tomorrow.”

Three additional boats will be in action on Monday including the two eights, which will be hitting the water for the first time in Paris.

The U.S. men’s eight starts action tomorrow after winning the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in May to earn its spot in Paris. The crew followed that up by winning a silver medal at the second World Rowing Cup race the next week in Lucerne. On Monday, the crew of Rielly Milne (Woodinville, Wash./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash./University of Washington/Seattle Scullers/Penn AC), Peter Chatain (Winnetka, Ill./Stanford University/California Rowing Club), Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/New York Athletic Club), Clark Dean (Sarasota, Fla./Harvard University/Boston Rowing Federation), Christian Tabash (Alexandria, Va./Harvard University/University of California, Berkeley/USRowing Training Center – Sarasota), Nick Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Yale University/California Rowing Club), and Henry Hollingsworth (Dover, Mass./Brown University/California Rowing Club) will take on the Netherlands, Germany, and Romania in the first of two heats, with the winner advancing directly to the final. The Dutch were second at the 2023 World Championships and finished third in Lucerne. Dean is the lone returning Olympian, having raced in the men’s four in Tokyo. The remaining eight athletes will be racing at their first Olympics.

The women’s eight of coxswain Nina Castagna (Cincinnati, Ohio/University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Olivia Coffey (Watkins Glen, N.Y./Harvard University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton),Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College/California Rowing Club), Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Madeleine Wanamaker(Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Yale University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), and Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) won the silver medal at last year’s world championships behind Romania and finished third at the world cup race in Lucerne in May. On Monday, the crew will take on Romania and Italy in the second of two heats, with the winner advancing directly to the final and the remaining boats heading to the repechage. Musnicki is a four-time Olympian and two-time Olympic gold medalist, while Buck, Coffey, Collins, Salmons, and Wanamaker all raced in Tokyo. Bruggeman, who served as an alternate in Tokyo, will be racing at her first Olympics, as will Castagna and Hedeman.

After finishing fourth in the its heat on Saturday, the U.S. women’s quadruple sculls crew of Lauren O’Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION), Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/ University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), and Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill./University of Wisconsin/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) will have another shot to advance to the final from Monday’s repechage. The crew will take on China, Switzerland, Romania, and Australia, with the top two finishers moving on to the race for the medals and the remaining crews heading to the B final for overall places 7-9.

Rowing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will take place July 27-August 3. Tuesday’s racing includes quarterfinals in the single sculls, as well as semifinals in the double sculls and repechages in the fours. Medal races start on Wednesday. Click here for a complete race schedule.

In total, the U.S. qualified 12 crews for the Olympics including the women’s single sculls, men’s single sculls, women’s double sculls, men’s double sculls, lightweight women’s double sculls, women’s quadruple sculls, women’s pair, men’s pair, women’s four, men’s four, women’s eight and men’s eight. The U.S. leads the way with Romania in qualifying the most boats to race in Paris.

Of the 42 athletes who will be competing in Paris, 17 are returning Olympians with three Olympic medals amongst them. Thirty-eight have competed on previous senior national teams, while four will be making their senior team debuts.

The U.S. men’s four lead their first race here at the Paris Olympics from start to finish, and looked the best in class doing it. They lived up to their number-one seed in winning the heat, sending them directly to A finals, where medals are won. France finished second, a length behind the U.S. crew, who had already taken it down across the line.

“That was pretty cool,” said two-seat Justin Best. “There’s a bubbler pipe that runs underneath the finish line and our call was ‘Through the bubbles,’ so seeing those bubbles and knowing we did what we needed to do, now it’s all eyes on the final, August 1st.”

Women’s single sculler Kara Kohler won her heat and three other U.S. crews advanced on Saturday as racing got underway at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

In the women’s single sculls, Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) pulled away from Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig to win the sixth and final heat to advance to Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Lobnig got off the line in first position with Serbia’s Jovana Arsic slotting into second and Kohler in third. During the second 500 meters, Kohler passed Arsic and came up to about even with Lobnig as the scullers entered the back half of the race. Kohler methodically rowed through Lobnig in the third 500, taking a two-second advantage into the final quarter of the race before pulling away for a 6.93-second victory. Kohler clocked a 7:32.46 to win the race. Lobnig finished second in a 6:39.39, with Arsic taking the last spot in the quarterfinals in a 7:48.29.

“It’s definitely a confidence boost, so I wanted to go out and have a solid race to have some confidence moving forward,” Kohler said. “It’s definitely good to let her rip out there. Each race is going to be more intense with a lot more on the line, so I think staying present and remembering how to row with all the excitement and adrenaline is the big thing.”

Men’s single sculler Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) advanced to Tuesday’s quarterfinals thanks to a second-place finish in the fourth of six heats. With three to advance, Individual Neutral Athlete Yauheni Zalaty took the early lead and quickly rowed away from pack in the first 500 meters to solidify his qualifying spot. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Lucas Verthein Ferreira, Monaco’s Quentin Antognelli, and Plihal were making it a three-way race for the final two qualifying spots. The three scullers hit the 500-meter mark basically even, with Antognelli holding a slim lead on Ferreira and Plihal. The three boats were still virtually even at the midway point, as Ferreira and Plihal inched ahead of Antognelli. In the third 500 meters, Ferreira and Plihal pulled away from Antognelli, taking a boat-length lead into the final 500 meters. At the line, Plihal was able to take second in a photo finish. Zalaty won the race in a 6:51.45. Plihal clocked a 6:54.95, with Ferreira taking third in a 6:54.96.

“First trip down the course, so that was good,” Plihal said. “Got the job done today. Obviously, Zalaty is pretty fast. Being able to be somewhat in close contact with him and then having a good race with Lucas from Brazil, that was great. We have a bit of a friendly rivalry from the Pan Ams, so being able to finish on the right side of the very slim margin today was good, but there’s a lot more rounds of racing.”

Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) and Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) finished third in the first of three heats of the men’s double sculls, qualifying directly for Tuesday’s semifinals. With three to advance, the American crew got off the line in fourth position before moving into third behind the Netherlands and New Zealand. In the third quarter of the race, the U.S. took a canvas lead on New Zealand’s Jordan Parry and Robbie Manson and sat about a boat-length behind the Dutch boat of Melvin Twellaar and Stefan Broenink, the defending world champions. Over the final 500 meters, the Dutch crew maintained its lead as New Zealand was able to inch ahead of the Americans at the line to take second. The Netherlands finished with a time of 6:14.13. New Zealand took second in a 6:16.41, with the U.S. finishing another 0.07 seconds back in a 6:16.48.

“I think things have been going well. I feel like we have been able to put in a lot of good training, a lot of miles between the qualifier and now,” Davison said. “We kind of saw today as our last training day. We needed to qualify today and go fast on Tuesday. That’s going to be a tough semi.”

“It’s good to get racing under our belt,” Koszyk said. “We’ve only raced internationally at world cup and world champs, so it’s another chance to go down the course with the noise and distractions and stress. We’ll definitely use it to our advantage.”

In the women’s double sculls, Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION) and Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center – Sarasota) also finished third in their heat to move on to Tuesday’s semifinals. Racing in the first of three semis, Wagner and Vitas sat in fourth position 500 meters into the race before moving into third and a qualifying spot by the 1,000-meter mark. Great Britain’s Rebecca Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne led through the 1,500-meter mark before New Zealand’s Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis were able to overtake them in the final sprint. New Zealand won the race in a 6:51.68, with Great Britain finishing in a 6:52.31. Wagner and Vitas clocked a 6:56.47.

“We’re not trying to do anything outside of our realm here. It’s all just executing what we’ve been training for the past three months, so we’re just trying to do that and what we did today was not that,” Vitas said. “Trying to find it for the next round is the goal.”

The U.S. women’s quadruple sculls crew of Lauren O’Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION), Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/ University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), and Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill./University of Wisconsin/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) finished fourth in the second heat and now will race in Monday’s repechage, or second-chance race. The U.S. boat dropped to fourth off the line and was still within contact of a qualifying position as the crews approached the halfway point. However, the American crew was unable to keep pace over the back half of the race. Great Britain pulled away from the field in the first 1,500 meters before cruising to a comfortable victory over a late-charging German crew. Great Britain won the race in a 6:13.35, with Germany taking second in a 6:15.28. Both crews advanced to the final. Switzerland finished third, with the U.S. finishing fourth in a 6:27.35. The U.S. will take on China, Switzerland, Romania, and Australia in the repechage.

“We learned a lot from that race,” O’Connor said. “I think there were some moments when we didn’t quite fall into the rhythm that we wanted to set, but I think moving forward we know what we need to do better, and we learned a lot. That’s only the third race we’ve done together as a crew, so every step of the way is a huge learning curve.”

“Most of it is learning how to fit better together. We all have a lot of different, very powerful strengths. I think the next step, the final step, is putting it together to making it move as one piece. I think when we get that flow, it’s like unreal. I think sometimes, like today, we need to take what we can learn from it and then on to the next one.”

Five more U.S. boats will hit the water for the first time in Sunday’s heats.

Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) and Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif./Stanford University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) earned their spot for Paris by winning the Olympic trials in April. On Sunday, Thoennes and Czajkowski will take on Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Lithuania in the first of three heats with the top three finishers advancing directly to the semifinals. The Netherlands’ Veronique Meester and Ymkje Clevering are the defending world champions and won gold this May at the 2024 World Rowing Cup II race in Lucerne, Switzerland. Thoennes and Czajkowski finished sixth at the world cup in Lucerne. Thoennes will be competing in her second Olympics, having raced in the eight in Tokyo, while Czajkowski will be making her Olympic debut.

Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College/California Rowing Club) and Billy Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College/California Rowing Club) earned their spot for Paris 2024 in the men’s pair by winning the Olympic trials in early April. Bender was part of the pair that finished fifth at last year’s world championships, while Bub was a member of the men’s eight in Belgrade. On Sunday, the duo will take on crews from Spain, Ireland, Switzerland, and New Zealand in the first of three heats, with the top three moving to the semifinals. Switzerland’s Andrin Gulich and Roman Roeoesli are the defending world champions, while Ireland’s Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney finished third last year. Both Bender and Bub are making their Olympic debuts.

In the lightweight women’s double sculls, Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Cambridge Boat Club) and Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/New York Athletic Club) have been reunited for Paris after racing in different boats in 2023. Sechser and Reckford finished fifth in the event at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and won a silver medal at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. On Sunday, the duo will take on crews from Japan, Peru, Ireland, and Romania in the second of three heats, with the top two finishers advancing directly to the semifinals. Romania won bronze at last year’s world championships and returns Ionela Cozmiuc from that lineup. Sechser and Reckford won bronze at the 2024 World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne.

The women’s four features all first-time Olympians in Kaitlin Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Mary Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club). On Sunday, the quartet will race against Great Britain, Denmark, New Zealand, and China in the first of two heats, with the top two finishers qualifying directly for the final. Great Britain finished third at last year’s world championships, crossing the line just ahead of the U.S. entry.

In the men’s four, Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club), Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club), and Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club) brought home a silver medal from the 2023 World Rowing Championships and won gold at the 2024 World Rowing Cup II race in Lucerne. On Sunday, the top-seeded crew will take on Australia, France, and Switzerland in the second of two heats, with the top two finishers advancing to the final. Australia is the defending Olympic champion. All four Americans will be competing in their second Olympic Games, with Best, Mead, and Corrigan racing in the eight in Tokyo and Grady racing in the four.

Rowing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will take place July 27-August 3. Heats continue on Monday, with medal races beginning on Wednesday. Click here for a complete race schedule.

In total, the U.S. qualified 12 crews for the Olympics including the women’s single sculls, men’s single sculls, women’s double sculls, men’s double sculls, lightweight women’s double sculls, women’s quadruple sculls, women’s pair, men’s pair, women’s four, men’s four, women’s eight and men’s eight. The U.S. leads the way with Romania in qualifying the most boats to race in Paris.

Of the 42 athletes who will be competing in Paris, 17 are returning Olympians with three Olympic medals amongst them. Thirty-eight have competed on previous senior national teams, while four will be making their senior team debuts.

USRowing would like to thank our national team sponsors including our Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams, Filippi Lido; our Official Apparel Provider, 776BC; our Official Partner, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., our Exclusive Supplement Supplier, Thorne HealthTech; our Official Performance Electronics Outfitter, Nielsen-Kellerman; the National Rowing Foundation; and TrainingPeaks, the Official Training and Coaching Software of USRowing’s High Performance Team.

There was plenty of rain, but little wind, on the first day of rowing at the Olympics. Four U.S. boats finished in the top three to avoid the reps and advance directly to the quarter finals (singles) and semifinals (doubles). The women’s quad finished fourth in their heat and will need to place in the top two in Monday’s repechage to make the grand final.

“There’s maybe a little crosswind here and there, but for the most part it’s pretty flat,” said U.S. single sculler Jacob Plihal, “which is great to row in for day one.”

The U.S. women’s Olympic double of Kristi Wagner and Sophia Vitas finished third in their heat to advance to the A/B semifinal, but were deeply disappointed afterwards. “Frustrating,” said a morose Wagner, who said she considered pulling a Bill Belichek and saying only “on to Cincinnati.”

The pairs, fours, and lightweight women’s double—all featuring U.S. crews— race their first heats Sunday.

All 12 of the U.S. crews and both of Canada’s qualified crews, the women’s eight and lightweight double, face tough paths to the finals, because this is the Olympics. Unlike World Rowing Championships, boats must qualify to compete at the Olympics, and with the quota for rowing having been further reduced, every crew racing here in Paris is fast, and there are no easy paths to the finals.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” says Josy Verdonkschot, chief coach of the U.S. Olympic rowing squad. “From now on it’s just day by day.”

With much bigger qualified fields, the men’s (33) and women’s (32) single sculls are the only events requiring quarter and semi finals, giving U.S. scullers Kara Kohler and Jacob Plihal one fewer race to the finals if they finish in top three in the heats on Saturday, July 27.

Kohler, seeded ninth, races in the 6th heat that includes current European champion Jovana Arsic from Serbia. Plihal is unseeded and faces Penn’s Dara Alizadeh representing—and carrying the flag in the opening ceremony for—Bermuda. Top three of the single sculls heats go directly to the quarter finals, all others race in the repechages.

The U.S. men’s and women’s double both have the Dutch in their heats, while the U.S. women’s quad has China, Great Britain, and Germany—the reigning Olympic, World, and World Cup champions, respectively—in theirs.

There are only tough draws in the Olympics.

The U.S. will have five boats in action on Saturday July 27 at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium as rowing gets underway at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Men’s single sculler Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) will be making his Olympic debut on Saturday. Plihal earned his spot in Paris by finishing second in the event at the 2024 World Rowing Final Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta. Racing in the fourth of six heats, Plihal will take on scullers from Brazil, Bermuda, Monaco, and Individual Neutral Athlete, with the top three advancing to the quarterfinals. Individual Neutral Athlete Yauheni Zalaty finished seventh in the event at the 2023 World Rowing Championships.

In the women’s single sculls, Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) earned a spot on her third Olympic team by winning the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Rowing in early April. Kohler, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist in the women’s quadruple sculls, won bronze in the single at the 2019 World Rowing Championships and finished fourth in the event at last year’s world championships. Racing in the sixth and final heat, Kohler will take on scullers from Kuwait, Serbia, Togo, and Austria. Serbia’s Jovana Arsic finished ninth at last year’s world championships and won the event at the 2024 European Rowing Championships. Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig also is competing at her third Olympic Games, having won bronze in the event in Tokyo. She finished seventh at last year’s world championships. The top three finishers will advance directly to the quarterfinals.

In the men’s double sculls, Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) and Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) qualified for the Games after winning the Olympic trials and then winning the Final Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta in May. The duo finished 13th at last year’s world championships. Racing in the first of three heats, Davison and Koszyk will take on crews from the Netherlands, New Zealand, China, and Serbia, with the top three crews advancing directly to the semifinals. The Netherlands’ Melvin Twellaar and Stefan Broenink won gold at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. Davison was part of the men’s eight in Tokyo, finishing fourth, while Koszyk is making his Olympic debut.

Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION) and Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center – Sarasota) joined forces in July of 2022 and went on to finish fifth at the World Rowing Championships later that summer. The duo reunited in 2023, winning bronze at the world championships, and were nominated to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team in late March. At the 2024 World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne, Vitas and Wagner won gold in the event ahead of Australia and Norway. On Saturday, the duo will take on the Netherlands, New Zealand, Italy, and Great Britain in the first of three heats. New Zealand’s Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis finished fifth at last year’s world championships. Francis won silver in the event in Tokyo, while Spoors won silver in the women’s eight. Wagner is racing at her second Olympics, having finished fifth in the double in Tokyo, while Vitas is making her Olympic debut.

The U.S. women’s quadruple sculls crew of Lauren O’Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION), Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/ University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), and Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill./University of Wisconsin/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) won the Final Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta in May to qualify for Paris. The U.S. finished 11th last year, with O’Connor and Joyce returning from that boat. All four American women will be making their Olympic debuts in Paris. On Saturday, the crew will take on Switzerland, Germany, and Great Britain in the second of two heats, with the top two finishers advancing directly to the final. Great Britain is the defending world champion.

Rowing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will take place July 27-August 3. Heats continue on Sunday and Monday, with medal races beginning on Wednesday. Click here for a complete race schedule.

In total, the U.S. qualified 12 crews for the Olympics including the women’s single sculls, men’s single sculls, women’s double sculls, men’s double sculls, lightweight women’s double sculls, women’s quadruple sculls, women’s pair, men’s pair, women’s four, men’s four, women’s eight and men’s eight. The U.S. leads the way with Romania in qualifying the most boats to race in Paris.

Of the 42 athletes who will be competing in Paris, 17 are returning Olympians with three Olympic medals amongst them. Thirty-eight have competed on previous senior national teams, while four will be making their senior team debuts.