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The 2026 World Rowing Under 23 Championships got underway Thursday, July 23, in Duisburg, Germany, where the United States has sent a strong squad of collegiate athletes to compete against the best U23 rowers in the world.
The American squad opened with six heat victories, led by wins in the women’s pair, men’s four, women’s four, women’s quadruple sculls, men’s eight, and women’s eight.
The men’s eight faced the closest contest among the American heat winners. The U.S. lineup of Marcus Chung, Louis Gagnon, Sam Gallaudet, Gabriel George, Michael Kain, Taeden Landa, Travis O’Neil, Sandro Scalfi, and Andrew Wilkinson trailed Australia through the opening 500 meters before moving in front approaching halfway. The two crews remained separated by only a few seats, but the Americans answered each Australian challenge and won in 5:59.28. They advance to Sunday’s A final.
The women’s eight completed the six-win day by taking its race for lanes over Great Britain. Olivia Bachert, Amelia Boes, Joely Cherniss, Lauren Dubois, Elsa Hartman, Katherine Nordheim, Hannah Smith, Quincy Stone, and Amy Werner steadily increased the American advantage through the third quarter. The U.S. finished in 6:31.06, 3.60 seconds ahead of the British crew. Both boats will return for Sunday’s final.
Northeastern’s Gracelyn Theobald and Stanford’s Carly Brown gave the U.S. its first win in the women’s pair. The Americans took control early and built a lead of more than five seconds before holding off a late push from Romania. They crossed in 7:55.25 and advanced to Friday’s semifinal.
The men’s four of Tobias Finn, Jordan Dykema, Kian Aminian, and Timothy Parsons also led from the start. The crew opened a commanding advantage through the middle thousand and finished in 6:29.83, more than two seconds ahead of Romania, to secure a semifinal berth.
Ella Wheeler, Annika Jeffrey, Phoebe Wise, and Claire Van Praagh were equally convincing in the women’s four. They gained 2.5 seconds in the opening 500 meters, extended the margin beyond five seconds, and won in 7:09.58. South Africa cut into the lead late, but the result was never seriously in doubt.
One of the day’s strongest American performances came from the women’s quadruple sculls crew of Sumner Kerr, Kathryn Serra, Madison Kieft, and Lila Henn. The U.S. had open water by halfway and finished 4.16 seconds ahead of Italy in 6:57.90. The win sent the quad directly to Saturday’s A final.
Several other U.S. entries also moved forward.
Francis McGrath and Jack Kastner of Dartmouth finished second in the men’s pair heat, overtaking New Zealand late and advancing to Friday’s semifinal. Washington’s Cillian Mullen placed third in the single sculls heat in 8:23.66 to qualify for Saturday’s semifinal.
Community Rowing’s Simeon John finished third in the lightweight men’s single and advanced to a Saturday semifinal. Boston University’s Ela Ersan also placed third in the lightweight women’s single, earning a place in the A final.
Yale’s Fielding Staelin and Ryan Natterson finished third in the lightweight men’s double sculls and qualified for Sunday’s A final.
The opening round was more difficult for several of the American sculling crews. Middlebury’s Levi Munster advanced to the C final of the men’s single, while Cate Sauer and Savanna Jerome will race the women’s double C final. Tony Madigan and Daniel Malecki moved to the men’s double D final, and the men’s quadruple sculls crew of George Dolce, Cyrus Rosenberg, Michael Ruschmann, and Thomas Segrera will contest the C final.
Racing continues Friday with semifinals and the first set of lower-level finals.
