BEIJING - Five U.S. crews will race in repechages, or second-chance races, on Tuesday, the fourth day or rowing competition at the 2008 Olympic Games. The lightweight women's double sculls, lightweight men's four, women's quadruple sculls, men's eight and women's pair will all be in action tomorrow starting at 4 p.m. local time (4 a.m. EDT).
After missing an automatic qualification spot for the semifinals by 0.09 seconds during Sunday's heat, the lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Jen Goldsack (Banstead, United Kingdom) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) will race in the first of two repechages on Tuesday for a second chance to advance. The duo will take on Japan, Finland, Kazakhstan, Korea and South Africa, with the top three finishers moving on to Thursday's semifinals.
The lightweight men's four quartet of Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Mike Altman (Marin County, Calif.) will also be looking for a spot in the semifinals when it takes on The Netherlands, Ireland and Egypt in the repechage. The top three finishers will move on to the semifinals.
The women's quadruple sculls crew of Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio), Jennifer Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.), Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.) and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) will be chasing a spot in Sunday's final in its repechage. The U.S. boat will take on crews from Germany, Ukraine, Canada, Australia and Russia, with the top four finishers advancing to the final.
The men's eight of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.), Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.), Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), Micah Boyd (St. Paul, Minn.), Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.) and Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.) finished second in its heat on Monday and will now take on Poland, The Netherlands, Australia, China and Germany in the repechage. The top four crews will advance to the final.
The women's pair of Anna Cummins (Bellevue, Wash.) and Portia McGee (Seattle, Wash.) drew a tough repechage after finishing fourth in its heat. The duo will take on China, Germany and Canada, with the top two finishers advancing to Saturday's final. China, which finished third in its heat, won two world cup races this summer. Germany, which won the other world cup race, finished second in the same heat as the U.S. boat.