If the first international races of the Olympic year are any indication of what's to come, the United States is setting up for a dramatic showing in Rio this summer after winning gold and bronze Sunday at World Cup I.
Racing for the first time together as a crew, the men's four won gold and the lightweight men's four took bronze.
"We've only been together a very short time, so we felt like we were getting better every day over here," said Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.) "This is a good place to start, but we have a lot of work to do and room for improvement. It was a good stepping-stone for what we want to accomplish this summer."
Racing in Varese, Italy, Rummel, Seth Weil (Menlo Park, Calif.), Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and Matt Miller (Fairfax, Va.) took the final in 6:09.88, besting defending world champion Italy, which finished second in 6:10.16. The Netherlands finished third in 6:10.89.
In the lightweight four, Tyler Nase (Phoenixville, Pa.), Edward (Mix) King (Ironton, Mo.), Robin Prendes (Miami, Fla.) and Anthony Fahden (Lafayette, Calif.), captured bronze in 6:22.99. Switzerland won in 6:16.91, and China was second in 6:22.33.
"Having some hardware from the world cup is a good motivator," said Prendes. "But, it's early in the season, and we have a lot of work to do."
The medal was the first for the U.S. in the event since 2003 when the lightweight men's four won bronze at the first world cup stop in Milan, Italy.
"The guys raced well here in Varese and learned a lot," said coach Cameron Kiosoglous. "Clearly, the Swiss are a class act, congrats to them! We really appreciate the opportunity to race here to get a measure of our speed in preparation for the Olympic Games. Now it's time to return home and get ready for Rio."
Racing in the men's single, Craftsbury Sculling Center's Tom Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished second in the D final.