Three Lightweight Scullers Heading to Lucerne for World Cup 3

The U.S. will have three lightweight scullers heading to Lucerne, Switzerland, this weekend for the third World Rowing Cup regatta of the season.

Sophia Luwis (McLean, Va./The College of William & Mary/Whitemarsh Boat Club) won a silver medal in the lightweight women’s single sculls at the second world cup last month in Varese, Italy, and will be part of a 14-boat field in Lucerne. After making her first national team last year in the lightweight women’s quadruple sculls, Luwis missed the world championships due to injury. She is gearing up towards another opportunity to make the team later this month at the U.S. Senior National Team Trials.

In addition to Luwis, the U.S. also will be represented by Elizabeth Martin (Lexington, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Riverside Boat Club) in the lightweight women’s single. Martin made her first national team last year as part of the lightweight women’s quad. Earlier this year, she qualified for the Pan American Games in the lightweight women’s double sculls. Martin and partner Mary Wilson won the bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games Qualification Regatta in San Pedro de la Paz, Chile, earning the chance to race at the 2023 Pan American Games in October. Luwis and Martin will face 12 other scullers in Lucerne including France’s Aurelie Morizot, who won gold at World Rowing Cup II, and Great Britain’s Olivia Bates, who won bronze in Varese.

Jamie Copus (Oxford, England/Oxford Brookes University/Penn AC), a multiple time British National Team member who is looking to make his first U.S. team in 2023, is part of a 16-boat field in the lightweight men’s single sculls. Copus finished fourth in the lightweight single at USRowing’s 2023 Winter Speed Order in early March. He will take on a field that includes Switzerland’s Andri Struzina and France’s Baptiste Savaete, who won silver and bronze, respectively, in the event at World Rowing Cup II, as well as Slovenia’s Rajko Hrvat, who won gold at World Rowing Cup I.

Racing is scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m. local time on Friday with heats, quarterfinals, and repechages. The remaining repechages, semifinals, some placement finals, and finals in non-Olympic events – including the two lightweight single sculls – will be featured on Saturday. Finals in Olympic and Paralympic boat classes take place on Sunday. The draw for lane assignments will take place on Thursday at 3 p.m. local time.

Nearly 700 athletes from 52 nations are scheduled to compete in Lucerne. The live race tracker and live audio will be available on www.worldrowing.com. Live video streaming of the A finals will be available on the World Rowing website.

Event coverage will be available on USRowing.org and WorldRowing.com. A preliminary schedule can be found here.

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Center.