The U.S. men's pair, lightweight men's double sculls and women's pair won medals on Tuesday to highlight the fourth day of rowing competition at the 2007 Pan American Games at the Lagoa Rowing Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The men's pair and lightweight men's double sculls both won silver medals, while the women's pair brought home a bronze medal.
In the men's pair, Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.) and Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.) passed Cuba and held off Brazil in the final 500 meters to win the silver medal. In what was a tight, three-way battle for second place, Beery and O'Dunne sat in third position as the crews entered the final quarter of the race, 1.14 seconds behind Cuba and 0.74 seconds ahead of Brazil. The U.S. crossed the finish line in a 6:37.89, while Brazil clocked a 6:38.16 to edge Cuba by 0.08 seconds. Canada's Christopher Jarvis and Dan Casaca led the race from wire-to-wire, finishing with a time of 6:34.26 to win the gold medal.
The lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Andrew Liverman (Oakton, Va.) and Richard Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) also won a silver medal on Tuesday, finishing 4.15 seconds behind Cuba's Yunior Perez and Eyder Batista. Liverman and Montgomery led the race through the 1,500-meter mark before the Cuban crew passed them in the final quarter of the race. Cuba crossed the finish line in a 6:24.19, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:28.34. Chile's Miguel Carda and Felipe Leal won the bronze medal with a time of 6:28.92.
The women's pair of Ruth Stiver (Madisonville, Texas) and Jennifer Reck (Detroit, Mich.) won a bronze medal. The duo sat in third position for the entire race, crossing the finish line with a time of 7:36.12. Chile's Maria Jose Orellana and Soraya Jadue won the gold medal in a 7:28.94, followed by Canada's Nathalie Maurer and Zoe Hoskins in a 7:30.05. Cuba finished fourth.
In the men's single sculls, Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.) finished fifth. Schroeder sat in third position at the 500-meter mark before dropping back to fifth at the midway point of the race. Argentina's Santiago Fernandez, who finished fourth in the event at the 2004 Olympics, won the race in a 6:59.41, followed by Cuba's Yoennis Hernandez in a 7:04.47. Brazil's Marcelus Silva used the fastest final 500-meter split to overtake Chile's Oscar Vasquez for the bronze medal. Schroeder finished with a time of 7:13.63.
Reilly Dampeer (Weston, Conn.) also finished fifth in the final of the women's single sculls. Dampeer sat in sixth place through the 1,000-meter mark before making a push into fourth during the third quarter of the race. However, she was unable to mount a challenge on El Salvador's Camila Vargas for the bronze-medal position and dropped back to fifth in the final 500 meters. Cuba's Mayra Gonzalez won the gold medal in a 7:49.47. Argentina's Maria Gabriela Best finished second in a 7:56.05, with Vargas placing third in an 8:06.43. Dampeer crossed the line with a time of 8:16.06.
Four more U.S. crews will race for medals on Wednesday. The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Carey Brezler (Waynesboro, Pa.) and Hannah Moore (Niskayuna, N.Y.) won its heat on Sunday to advance directly to the final. The duo, which clocked the fastest time of the heats, will take on boats from Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and Argentina in the final.
In the women's double sculls, Margaret Matia (Burke, Va.) and Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.) enter the final as the top seeds after winning their race for lanes earlier in the week. They will take on Canada, Cuba and Argentina in the race for medals.
The men's four of Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Sebastian Bea (San Francisco, Calif.) and Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) also won its race for lanes. The quartet will face Canada, Brazil, Cuba, Argentina and Mexico in Wednesday's final.
In the men's double sculls, Francis Cuddy (Amherst, N.H.) and Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) finished third in their race for lanes. The duo will take on crews from Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, Peru and Uruguay in the final.