The lightweight women's double sculls crew of Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.), the women's double sculls crew of Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.) and Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.) and men's single sculler Ken Jurkowski(New Fairfield, Conn.) became the first rowers named to the 2011 U.S. Senior National Team, USRowing announced on Wednesday. The five athletes will represent the United States at the 2011 World Rowing Championships August 28-September 4 in Bled, Slovenia.
Nichols and Hedstrom earned a spot on the team by winning the 2011 National Selection Regatta #2 in May and then winning bronze at the 2011 Rowing World Cup in Munich. The crew went on to compete at the second world cup stop in Hamburg and won gold in the event.
"We are really excited to secure our place on the World Championship Team," said Nichols. "Now we can focus on getting in good training and racing leading into Bled. It has been great working with Kristin, we have a really constructive dynamic and are continuously working on improving."
"It has been a whirlwind of a month, but we are thrilled to earn our nomination to the worlds team," said Hedstrom. "Julie brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this double and it has been a lot of fun for us to train and race together. We are looking forward to representing the U.S. in Bled."
An eight-time national team member, Nichols served as an alternate in Beijing and most recently finished sixth in the lightweight single at the 2010 World Rowing Championships. Hedstrom won silver in the lightweight quad at last year's world championships.
In the women's double, Bertko and Trowbridge earned nominations to the national team with a silver-medal finish at the Munich world cup, following their win at the 2011 National Selection Regatta #2.
"I'm very excited to declare the double," said Trowbridge, a five-time national team member and Beijing Olympian in the women's quadruple sculls. "The double is a boat I love racing and Kate is an awesome partner."
Trowbridge and Bertko were both members of the women's quad that won silver at the 2009 World Championships in Poland. At last year's world championships, Trowbridge finished fifth in the event, while Bertko raced in the double that also finished fifth.
Beijing Olympian Ken Jurkowski will once again represent the U.S. in the men's single sculls. The Cornell University graduate dominated in the first National Selection Regatta earlier this spring before finishing ninth at the first world cup in Munich and then winning a bronze medal at the second World Rowing Cup in Hamburg.
"I made the decision to race the world cup circuit because I wanted to improve my performance, and racing only once per year (at the world championships) does not provide enough data for meaningful analysis," said Jurkowski. "The world cups provide more opportunities to test myself against the best scullers in the world.
"Attaining the nomination to the world championship team is helpful in simplifying my training this summer, however it was not the motivation behind the trip. I am glad I made the investment to come to Europe for this experience. The gains I have made outweigh the significant personal expense, and I know I am better prepared for the World Rowing Championships in Bled."
The rest of the senior national team squad will be named over the next few weeks. Camp-selected boats will be named on or before July 25, while trials for the remaining boats will take place August 1-4.