Anna Mickelson and Megan Cooke won a gold medal in the women's pair, while three other U.S. crews won medals, to highlight the final day of competition at the 2006 FISA World Cup stop in Lucerne, Switzerland. In addition to the pair, the women's eight, lightweight women's double sculls, and men's quadruple sculls reached the medal stand on Sunday.
Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.) and Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.) clocked a 7:12.78 to claim a 1.62-second victory over Germany in the final of the women's pair. The two crews battled each other the entire way down the course. The U.S. took the early advantage, leading after 500 meters. However, Germany grabbed the lead just before the 1,000-meter mark and continued to build its advantage over the next 500 meters. With just 500-meters to go, Germany held a 1.74-second advantage on the Americans. However, the U.S. used a strong sprint to overtake its rivals and pull away for the victory.
The women's eight of coxswain Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Rachel Jeffers (Los Gatos, Calif.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Nicole Sylvester (New Durham, N.H.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.), and Portia Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) won a silver medal, finishing less than one second behind Romania. The U.S. and Romania waged a tight battle through the midway point of the race, with Romania holding a 0.47-second advantage at the 1,000-meter mark. The Romanians built their advantage to 1.45 seconds during the third quarter of the race before the U.S. made a late charge to cut into the deficit. Romania won the race with a time of 6:12.32, while the U.S. finished in a 6:13.27. Germany won the bronze medal.
The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) clocked a 7:16.63 to edge Ireland for the bronze medal. The U.S. got off the line in second place and crossed the 1,000-meter mark in third behind Canada and Ireland. Finland, which sat just tenths behind in fourth place, made a strong move during the third quarter of the race to take control of the second position, while Ireland continued to build its lead on the U.S. However, Nichols and Hykel used a strong final 500 meters to turn a 1.60-second deficit to Ireland into a 0.25-second advantage and won the bronze medal. Canada led the race from start to finish, coming home in a 7:11.62. Finland won the silver medal with a time of 7:13.60.
The men's quadruple sculls quartet of Matt Hughes (Ludington, Mich.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine), and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) also won a bronze medal. The crew got off the line in fifth position, where it remained through the 1,000-meter mark. During the third 500, the U.S. overtook Estonia to move into fourth place and then passed a fading Russian crew, which led after 500 meters, in the final quarter of the race. The Czech Republic won with a time of 5:50.81, followed by Germany in a 5:52.17. The U.S. boat clocked a 5:53.31, followed by Russia in a 5:54.11.
The women's quadruple sculls crew of Ala Piotrowski (Manchester, N.H.), Jen Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.), Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.), and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) finished just off the medal stand in fourth place, 1.62 seconds from the bronze-medal position. Sitting in fourth at each 500-meter split, the crew made a strong push during the third quarter of the race to pull within 0.75 seconds of third with just 500 meters remaining. However, the third-place Russian crew withstood the challenge and held on to the bronze medal. The U.S. clocked a 6:40.08. Great Britain won the gold medal with a time of 6:31.27, followed by Germany in a 6:35.66. Russia finished in a 6:38.46.
In the women's single sculls, Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.) clocked a 7:37.83 to finish in fifth place. Guerette got off to a slow start and sat in sixth position at the 500-meter mark, trailing a fifth-place Frida Svensson of Sweden by 1.4 seconds. Guerette closed the gap on the rest of the field during the middle 1,000-meters and moved into fourth position with 500 meters to go. However, she could never challenge the top three scullers for a spot on the medal stand and fell to fifth place during the final quarter of the race. Belarus' Ekaterina Karsten won the race with a time of 7:25.19, while the Czech Republic's Mirka Knapkova finished second in a 7:27.75. Russia's Julia Levina finished third in a 7:32.89, while Svensson finished fourth.
The women's double sculls tandem of Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) won the B final to finish in seventh place overall. The duo led the race from start to finish, crossing the finish line with a time of 7:07.11. Hungary finished second in a 7:10.32.