LUCERNE, Switzerland – When the third and final stage of the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup series returns to the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland this weekend, 14 United States crews will be ready to compete.
Among the 650 athletes from 43 countries, the two boat classes attracting the most entries are the men's single sculls with 24 boats and the men's pair with 21. In the women's events, the largest entries are in the single sculls with 19 boats and the lightweight women's double sculls with 15.
Seven U.S. athletes will attempt to secure a spot on the U.S. National Team that will race at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, South Korea, August 25-September 1. A top four placement in the men’s single sculls, lightweight women’s double sculls, women’s double sculls and women’s pair will earn qualification.
Rowing in the men’s single is John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio). Graves earned the opportunity to compete in the regatta with his win at the 2013 National Selection Regatta #1. He finished ninth at the World Cup #2 in Eton Dorney, his first international appearance at the senior level.
Among the top men’s singles competitors are Ondrej Synek, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist from the Czech Republic and Alan Campbell, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Great Britain, who finished first and second respectively at World Cup #2.
The new lightweight women's double sculls combination of Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.) and Kristin Hedstrom(Concord, Mass.) will compete internationally for the first time since their stunning victory at the National Selection Regatta #2. Hedstrom competed in the event at the 2012 Olympic Games, finishing 11th overall.
In the women's double sculls, NSR #2 winners Ellen Tomek (Flint, Mich.) and Meghan O'Leary (Baton Rouge, La.) will race as USA 1, while Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) and Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.) will race as a second USA entry.
Tomek and Kalmoe competed in the event at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, finishing fifth. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Kalmoe sat three-seat in the bronze-medal women’s quad.
Women's pair of Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y.) and Taylor Goetzinger (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) will represent the U.S. in Lucerne. Musnicki, a gold medalist in the women’s eight in London and Goetzinger won the event at NSR #2 earlier this year.
Women's single sculler and two-time Olympic gold medalist Eleanor Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine), who was named to the 2013 U.S. National Team last week, will be going after her fourth World Cup medal of the season. Logan secured her spot on the team with a bronze in Eton. At the first world cup stop in Sydney, Logan won bronze in the single and silver in the quadruple sculls.
Among the top women’s single scullers competing are London gold medalist Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic, Kim Crow of Australia, who won bronze in this event at the 2012 Olympics, and Emma Twigg of New Zealand, who finished fourth in London last year and won gold in Eton.
Taylor Brown (Winter Park, Fla.) and Michael DiSanto (Boston, Mass.) will compete in the men’s pair. They face stiff competition in New Zealand’s Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, who have been unbeaten in the event since 2009 and set a new World Cup Best Time in Eton last month. France’s Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette, the London Olympic silver medalists, will also fight for a spot on the podium.
The lightweight men's four of Robin Prendes (Miami, Fla.), Bob Duff (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.), Will Daly (Vail, Colo.) and Anthony Fahden (Lafayette, Calif.) will take on 15 crews in the event. Prendes and Fahden return from the 2012 Olympic crew that finished eighth in London.
Representing the United States in the men's four is Grant James (DeKalb, Ill.), Seth Weil (Menlo Park, Calif.), Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.) and Mike Gennaro (Havertown, Pa.). Rummel won a bronze medal in the event at the 2012 Olympic Games, while James finished fourth in the men’s eight.
The men's quadruple sculls team of William Cowles (Farmington, Conn.), Matt Miller (Springfield, Va.), Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) that finished second at the U.S. Men’s Quad Trials in June is back to test their speed against international competition. They will race in a field of 15 crews.
Up against 11 crews in the women's quadruple sculls is the team of Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif.) and Adrienne Martelli (University Place, Wash.). No shortage of London Olympic medalists in this lineup – Martelli and Kohler won bronze in the event last summer, while Lofgren and Francia won gold in the women’s eight.
After its win at the USRowing National Championships last week in West Windsor, N.J., the U.S. men's eight of coxswain Zach Vlahos (Piedmont, Calif.), Tom Peszek (Farmington Hills, Mich.), Thomas Dethlefs (Lawrenceville, N.J.), Steven Kasprzyk (Cinnaminson, N.J.), Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.), Austin Hack (Old Lyme, Conn.), Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.), Ross James (DeKalb, Ill.) and Ian Silveira (West Bloomfield, Mich.) return to race on the world stage. The U.S. is among eight crews in this event.
In the women's eight, Leigh Carroll (Sherborn, Mass.), Kerry Simmonds (San Diego, Calif.), Emily Regan (Buffalo, N.Y.), Lauren Schmetterling (Moorestown, N.J.), Grace Luczak (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Heidi Robbins (Hanover, N.H.),Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Vicky Opitz (Middleton, Wis.) will take on five other crews in the event. Lind returns from the Olympic crews that won gold in Beijing and London.
In the international events, the lightweight men's pair of Tyler Nase (Phoenixville, Pa.) and Michael Wales (Seattle, Wash.) will compete in a field of 15 crews. Nase and Wales won the event at the USRowing National Championships last month.
The World Rowing Cup series was launched in 1997 and includes all 14 Olympic boat classes. The overall World Rowing Cup winners are determined after a series of three regattas. Following the two initial stages of the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup held in Sydney (AUS) and at Eton Dorney (GBR), it is Great Britain leading the overall World Cup standings with 140 points. Australia currently ranks second with 99 points and New Zealand has 97 points.
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The World Cup finals will be video-streamed live on Sunday, July 14 at www.worldrowing.com/video.