The men's eight will look to defend its title at the upcoming XVII Pan American Games July 10-26 on Martindale Pond in St. Catharines, Ontario. The U.S. crew is coming off of a fourth-place finish at the 2014 World Rowing Championships.
"This is a completely new group of guys and our competition will also be different," said coxswain of the men's eight Sam Ojserkis. "The only thing we can control is our strokes, so that's what we'll do. For the eight, they have a unique challenge of racing two events; some are rowing the four, others the pair. Their fitness will be put to the test over the course of the multi-day regatta."
Competing in 14 events, 26 rowers will race in the men's and women's single sculls, lightweight women's single sculls, men's and women's double sculls, lightweight men's and women's double sculls, men's and women's pair, men's and women's quadruple sculls, men's four, lightweight men's four and men's eight.
The 2015 Pan American Games Trials winners of the men's and women's double sculls and the winners of the men's and women's lightweight double sculls make up the men's and women's quads. The men's eight was selected from the trials winners of the men's four and the top two men's pairs.
The USRowing roster features 14 senior national team members, one of which competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in Robin Prendes (Miami, Fla.) and two athletes from the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.) and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.).
There will also be a strong showing from Vesper Boat Club. The Philadelphia, Pa.-elite training center won four of the eleven events at the U.S. Pan American Games Trials on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. In addition, the lightweight men's double sculls composite Cambridge Boat Club and Malta Boat Club crew of Austin Meyer (Cohoes, N.Y.) and Colin Ethridge (Laytonsville, Md.) has been training with the Vesper team.
"It feels really good to be part of a team that is really successful," said men's single sculler Yohann Rigogne. "Most of us, now, train together for the same race and it will make us faster. We are all really proud of representing USA and Vesper. A lot of Vesper members are always here to help us and it's our turn to show them that it's worth it."
Coming off of a 25th-place finish at the 2014 World Rowing Championships, Rigogne (Besançon, France) returned to finish second in the men's pair at the 2015 National Selection Regatta 1 and then win the single at the U.S. Pan American Games Trials.
He is among nine competitors on the U.S. squad that competed at the 2014 World Rowing Championships.
One of the most decorated returning athletes is Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.), who, after sitting seven-seat in the 2014 U.S. men's eight, will be stroking the crew in Toronto.
Vesper's Mary Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) and Sarah Giancola (Buffalo, N.Y.) took seventh at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in the lightweight women's quadruple sculls, but will be parting ways as Jones competes in the lightweight women's single for the first time internationally. Giancola joins 2010 lightweight quad silver-medalist Victoria Burke (Redding, Conn.) in the lightweight women's double sculls and lightweight women's quadruple sculls.
Another set of athletes from Vesper Boat Club, Nicole Ritchie (Putney, Vt.) is making her first national team appearance alongside 2008 Olympian and five-time national team veteran Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.), who finished fifth in the quadruple sculls in Beijing.
The site of the prestigious Royal Canadian Henley since 1903, Martindale Pond in St. Catharines was the site of the 1970 and 1999 World Rowing Championships.
The Pan American Games is held every four years in the year preceding the Olympic Games For the first time, the entire Olympic program will be contested at the Pan American Games in 2015. The 17-day competition will feature more than 6,000 athletes from all 41 member nations of the Pan American Sports Organization competing in 37 sports, making it the largest multi-sport event ever held in Canada. The 2015 event will feature the Pan Am Games debut of golf, canoe slalom, women's baseball and women's rugby, while men's softball returns after a 12-year absence.
The U.S. will be competing in every sport on the Pan American Games program, with the exception of soccer and team handball. Additionally, U.S. athletes will be seeking Olympic qualification in 10 sports, including canoe/kayak, diving, equestrian, field hockey, pentathlon, shooting, synchronized swimming, table tennis, triathlon and water polo. In addition, athletes competing in badminton, sailing, taekwondo, tennis and weightlifting can receive ranking points toward qualification, while track and field athletes and swimmers can earn minimum qualification standards for Olympic Trials.
The 16th Pan American Games was held in Guadalajara, Mexico with the rowing portion of the competition taking place on Lake Zapotlan. While the United States won the overall games for the 15th consecutive year with a total of 236 points, the team finished the rowing portion with eight medals. Argentina took home the most gold, with five medals, while Cuba, with nine medals, had the highest total number.
The U.S. men's eight posted one of the most exciting finals of the rowing competition with a wire-to-wire finish, fighting off a late charge by Canada to claim a 1.69-second victory. In addition, the men's pair, women's single sculls and lightweight women's single sculls all won gold, while the women's double sculls and women's pair each finished with silver. The women's quadruple sculls and lightweight women's double sculls went home with bronze.
Links
Schedule and Event Information
U.S. Pan American Rowing Team Roster
U.S. Pan American Rowing Team Roster by State
U.S. Pan American Rowing Team Roster by University
U.S. Pan American Rowing Team Roster by Club
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