row2k news US Women's Eight Sets World's Best Time in Winning Gold at 2006 World Rowing Championships
August 27, 2006
The U.S. women's eight led from wire-to-wire en route to a world's best time and a gold medal, highlighting the final day of competition at the 2006 FISA World Rowing Championships on Dorney Lake in Eton, England.
The women's eight of coxswain Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.), and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) rocketed off the start, grabbing a two-seat lead in the first 250 meters of the race. The crew continued to build on its advantage during the next 750 metes, taking nearly a length lead over Germany at the midway point of the race. With a strong tailwind and choppy conditions, the U.S. encountered a slight bobble just after the 1,000-meter mark. However, the crew maintained control and didn't lose a beat. The U.S. was able to keep Germany at a safe distance the rest of the way down the course to win by a half length.
"It was not pretty," Whipple said. "The world's best time is a surprise because we were hitting waves left and right. The chop was really bad during the last 1,000. I had really good confidence in the first 1,000. I just kept telling them. 'Not yet, don't go yet.' Across the 1,000 was our really big commitment to not slow down because everyone expected us to slow up. I'm not going to lie. I was a little scared because there were a couple of topsy-turvy strokes. But, we just regrouped and were very determined."
The U.S. clocked a 5:55.50, which bettered the world's best time set by the American crew in the heat at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, by 1.05 seconds. Germany finished second in a 5:57.29. Australia held off China for the bronze medal.
"We knew it would be a really fast race, and we knew the conditions would get a lot harder as we went down the course," Mickelson said. "I am so proud and honored to be part of this crew that set a world's best time today. There is so much that resembles our Athens eight."
The U.S. also had four other crews win medals on Sunday. The men's eight won the bronze medal, while three adaptive crews reached the podium including the trunk-arms double sculls duo of Angela Madsen and Scott Brown, who won their fourth consecutive world title.
The men's eight of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.), Chris Liwski (Sarasota, Fla.), Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.), Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.), Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.), Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.), Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.), and Paul Daniels (Burlington, Wis.) won a bronze medal, finishing 2.29 seconds behind the winners from Germany. The German crew got off the line quickly, taking a lead during the first quarter of the race. Germany continued to increase its advantage through the 1,500-meter mark. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Italy sat in a tight battle for second place, with the Italians holding a small advantage at each of the 500-meter splits. Germany crossed the finish line with a time of 5:21.85, followed by Italy in a 5:23.29. The U.S. clocked a 5:24.14 to finish more than five seconds ahead of fourth-place Australia.
"Conditions were a little choppier than we thought they were going to be," Liwski said. "It was really a matter of who could break out first and then just hold it in those kinds of conditions. The Germans had a really good start and so did the Italians. They had the control in conditions like that, and we just had to try to chase them down. We just didn't catch them quick enough."
Angela Madsen (Long Beach, Calif.) and Scott Brown (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) continued their dominance of the adaptive trunk-arms double sculls event by winning their fourth consecutive world title. With 11 entries in Eton, the field was much deeper than in previous years but that didn't stop Madsen and Brown from coming home with another victory. The duo got off the line quickly and established a two-second lead in the first 500 meters. The U.S. continued to build on its advantage over the final 500 meters to win by 3.69 seconds. Madsen and Brown crossed the finish line with a time of 4:20.50. Poland finished second in a 4:24.19, followed by Canada in a 4:30.86.
"We love the growth, and we love the competition," Madsen said. "It's more meaningful to actually row against people who are our equals, people who are going to challenge us and make us better. I'm looking forward to next year and it being even better."
Ron Harvey (Long Beach, Calif.) won a medal in the adaptive men's single sculls for the third year in a row, coming home with a silver medal. Harvey, who won back-to-back bronze medals at the past two world championships, crossed the finish line with a time of 5:28.87. Australia's Dominic Monypenny won his second consecutive gold medal in a 5:41.83. Great Britain's Shaun Sewell finished third.
In the adaptive women's single sculls, Patty Rollison (Reno, Nev.) also won a silver medal. Rollison clocked a 6:23.10 to finish second behind Great Britain's Helene Raynsford, who crossed the finish line in a 6:14.18. Poland's Martina Snopek finished third.
The men's four with coxswain of Dane van den Akker (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Kyle Larson (Seattle, Wash.), Scott Gault (Piedmont, Calif.), Chris Callaghan (Tualatin, Ore.), and Brodie Buckland (Olympia, Wash.) just missed a medal, finishing fourth by 0.23 seconds. In fact, the top five crews were only separated by 2.21 seconds. Germany rowed through New Zealand in the second half of the race to win the gold medal in a time of 6:05.77. Canada made a late push to take second place, while New Zealand held off the Americans by about two feet to win the bronze medal. Canada finished with a time of 6:06.47, 0.90 seconds ahead of New Zealand. The U.S. clocked a 6:07.60, followed by Great Britain in a 6:07.98.
The lightweight women's quadruple sculls crew of Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.), Katie Sweet (Seattle, Wash.), Abby Broughton (Tetonia, Idaho), and Anne Finke (North Palm Beach, Fla.) finished fifth in its final. China dominated the race, crossing the finish line in a 6:23.96 to win the gold medal. Denmark finished second in a 6:28.16, followed by Great Britain in the bronze medal position and Germany in fourth. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:40.86, ahead of Canada.
The lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew of Bjorn Larsen (Lake Stevens, Wash.), Andrew Liverman (Oakton, Va.), Evan Price (Butler, Pa.), and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) finished fifth after being unable to maintain contact with the rest of the field. Italy took the lead in the second quarter of the race and went on to a 1.54-second victory, finishing with a time of 5:53.83. Germany finished second in a 5:55.37. France held on to win the bronze medal. The U.S. clocked a time of 6:09.93.
Jennifer Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.), Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.), Ala Piotrowski (Manchester, N.H.), and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) finished sixth in the final of the women's quadruple sculls. The crew held fifth position for the first 500 meters before dropping into sixth place. Russia led the race through the 1,000-meter mark, but Great Britain took a slight advantage with just 500 meters to go. However, the Russians rallied to overtake the defending world champions in the final few strokes. Russia won gold with a time of 6:11.99, while Great Britain crossed the line in a 6:12.50. Australia held on for the bronze medal, finishing 0.68 seconds ahead of Germany. The U.S. clocked a 6:22.01.
The adaptive legs-trunk-arms four with coxswain crew of Jamie Dean (Pickerington, Ohio), Jesse Karmazin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Jennifer Klapper (Scotia, N.Y.), Aerial Gilbert (Tiburon, Calif.), and coxswain Ryan Pawling (Jenkintown, Pa.) finished fifth. Great Britain won the race with a time of 3:28.21, while the Netherlands took silver in a 3:32.62. Canada won a tight battle for third place, clocking a 3:35.19 to finish 0.73 seconds ahead of Australia. The U.S. finished with a time of 3:36.83.
Other gold-medal winners on Sunday included Germany in the lightweight men's pair, China in the lightweight women's double sculls, Denmark in the lightweight men's double sculls, China in the lightweight men's four, and Poland in the men's quadruple sculls.
The U.S. also raced in four placement finals on Sunday.
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.) finished second in the B final for an eighth-place finish overall. While the crew sat in second place at each of the 500-meter splits, the three-way battle with Australia and France for second was tight all the way down the course. Germany held off a strong challenge from the Americans over the final 1,000 meters for a wire-to-wire victory. Germany clocked a 5:44.35, followed by the U.S. in a 5:45.33. Australia finished just 0.44 seconds back in third place.
The lightweight men's four of Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.), Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.), and Colin Farrell (Oaklyn, N.J.) finished third in the B final for a ninth-place overall finish. While Germany led from start to finish, it was a tight, four-way battle for second place the entire way down the course. The U.S. sat in second at the 500-meter mark but dropped to fourth at the midway point of the race. However, the Americans were able to edge Italy for third in the final few strokes. Germany won the race in a time of 5:54.32, followed by Poland in a 5:55.89. The U.S. crossed the finish line with a time of 5:56.71, 0.35 seconds ahead of Italy.
In the lightweight women's double sculls, Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) finished third in the B final for a ninth-place overall finish. The top five crews finished within 3.10 seconds of each other. Ireland won the race with a time of 6:54.64, followed by Poland in a 6:55.76. The U.S. clocked a 6:56.64, 0.01 seconds ahead of Germany.
In the lightweight men's pair, Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.) and Richard Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) finished fifth in the B final for an 11th-place finish overall. The crew sat in fourth place for the first 1,500 meters before dropping to fifth. France won the race in a 6:36.83. The U.S. clocked a 6:44.31.
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