The U.S. won three medals, including its first gold medal of the regatta, on Wednesday to highlight the fifth day of rowing competition at the 2007 Pan American Games at the Lagoa Rowing Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The women's double sculls won gold, the men's four won silver and the men's double sculls won bronze to give the U.S. a total of six medals through two days of finals.
Margaret Matia (Burke, Va.) and Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.) led from wire-to-wire to win the gold medal in the women's double sculls. The duo established a 1.52-second lead in the first 500 meters and extended its lead to more than two seconds at the midway point of the race. Canada's Cristin McCarty and Peggy Hyslop made up some ground in the third 500 meters before the U.S. boat pulled away for a 2.53-second victory. Matia and Trowbridge crossed the finish line in a 7:06.49, with Canada finishing in a 7:09.02. Cuba's Mayra Gonzalez and Yurisleydis Venet won the bronze medal in a 7:12.72.
The men's four of Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Sebastian Bea (San Francisco, Calif.) and Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) won the silver medal, finishing 0.12 seconds behind Argentina. The U.S. clocked a 6:11.71, while Argentina crossed the finish line in a 6:11.59. Canada won the bronze medal in a 6:17.56.
In the men's double sculls, Francis Cuddy (Amherst, N.H.) and Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) won the bronze medal, missing silver by 0.06 seconds. The duo, which sat in third position for the entire race, clocked the fastest final 500 meters but came up just short of second-place Argentina, clocking a 6:39.12. Cuba's Yoennis Hernandez and Janier Concepcion won the race in a 6:35.59, while Argentina's Ariel Suarez and Rodrigo Murillo claimed the silver medal in a 6:39.06.
The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Carey Brezler (Waynesboro, Pa.) and Hannah Moore (Niskayuna, N.Y.) finished fourth, just missing a medal. The duo sat in second position through the 1,500-meter mark before being passed by Mexico and Canada in the final quarter of the race. Cuba's Ismaray Marerro and Yaima Velazquez won gold in a 7:25.80. Mexico used a strong final 500 meters to move from fourth place into second, clocking a 7:30.80 to win the silver medal. Canada earned the bronze medal. Brezler and Moore crossed the finish line in a 7:32.46.
The remaining four U.S. crews will race for medals on Thursday, the last day of competition. The lightweight men's four of Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.), Matt Smith (Woodbridge, Va.), Bjorn Larsen (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.) had no trouble advancing to the final on Monday, winning its heat by nearly eight seconds. The crew will take on boats from Canada, Guatemala, Argentina, Brazil and Cuba in the final.
With only five entries in the event, the women's quadruple sculls crew of Margaret Matia (Burke, Va.), Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.), Reilly Dampeer (Weston, Conn.) and Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) won its race for lanes to earn the top seed in tomorrow's final. The quartet will take on Canada, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina in the race for medals.
Likewise, the men's eight of coxswain Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.), Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.), Sebastian Bea (San Francisco, Calif.), Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.), Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.), Chris Callaghan (Tualatin, Ore.) and Troy Kepper (Tallahassee, Fla.) won its race for lanes by more than six seconds to earn the top seed. The crew will take on boats from Brazil, Cuba and Argentina in the final.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Francis Cuddy (Amherst, N.H.), Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.), Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.) and Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) finished second in its race for lanes to advance to the final. The U.S. will face off against Cuba, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay tomorrow.