Five U.S. crews will race for medals on Saturday at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland. The women's double sculls, women's pair, men's pair, women's four and men's adaptive single sculls will be looking to reach the podium on the first day of finals.
In the women's double sculls, Ellen Tomek (Flushing, Mich.) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) enter Saturday's final on the back of a Lucerne gold medal and a fifth-place finish at the 2008 Olympic Games. The U.S. duo finished second to Poland's silver-medal Lucerne boat of Magdelena Fularczyk and Julia Michalska in the semifinal on Thursday. In addition to Poland, Tomek and Kalmoe will face Bulgaria's single sculls Beijing champion Rumyana Neykova and Miglena Markova, Great Britain, Australia and Czech Republic.
Competing in the women's pair, 2008 Olympic gold-medalists Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) and Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) will take on Australia, Romania, New Zealand, Great Britain and Germany. The U.S. duo, also doubling up in the eight, easily won its heat and semifinal en route to the final. In a strong field, New Zealand's Emma Feathery and Rebecca Scown, who won gold at the Munich and Lucerne world cup stops, will prove to be tough competition along with Germany's Kerstin Hartmann and Marlene Sinnig and Great Britain's Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve. Cafaro and Francia finished 2.27 seconds ahead of Australia's Kim Crow and Sarah Cook, the 2008 Olympic pair, in Thursday's semifinal.
The men's pair of Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) will take on the best in the field including New Zealand's Eric Murray and Hamish Bond and France's Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette, both crews which finished ahead of the U.S. in the semifinals, as well as Great Britain's Peter Reed and Andy Triggs Hodge, Greece and South Africa. Coming off of a bronze-medal finish in Lucerne, the U.S. duo finished third in its semifinal on Thursday.
The women's four crew of Elle Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine), Jamie Redman (Spokane, Wash.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.) finished second in its placement final and will now have a chance to race for medals against Germany, Canada, The Netherlands, Australia and Belarus. Logan was a Beijing gold-medalist in the women's eight, while Redman and Polk won gold in the 2008 under 23 women's eight and Lofgren won silver in the event at the 2008 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships.
In the adaptive men's single sculls, Ron Harvey (Long Beach, Calif.) finished second in his repechage to secure a spot in Saturday's final. Harvey, who took fifth in the event at the 2008 Paralympic Games, will compete against Ukraine, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Italy.
In addition, six U.S. crews will race in the B finals on Saturday including the men's single sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, lightweight men's pair, lightweight men's four, men's quadruple sculls and men's eight.
In the men's eight, the crew of coxswain Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.), Grant James (DeKalb, Ill.), Ross James (DeKalb, Ill.), Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Jake Cornelius (Brooktondale, N.Y.), Steve Kasprzyk (Cinnaminson, N.J.), Alex Osborne (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), Mike Holbrook (Madison, Wis.) and Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.) will race for places 7-10. The U.S. finished third in its repechage on Wednesday, missing a spot in the semifinals by 2.57 seconds, and will compete Saturday against Russia, Australia and Ukraine.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.), Will Miller (Duxbury, Mass.), Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and Elliot Hovey (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.) will take on Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Estonia in the B final for places 7-12. The U.S. quartet finished sixth in Friday's semifinal.
In the lightweight men's four, the crew of Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.), Nick LaCava (Weston, Conn.) and Taylor Washburn (Andover, Mass.) will take on Spain, Czech Republic, Japan, Switzerland and Canada in the B final. The U.S. boat finished fourth in Friday's semifinal and will now race for places 7-12.
Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) finished fifth in his semifinal of the men's single sculls and will now race for places 7-12. The 2008 Olympic alternate will now face Greece, Lithuania, Sweden, Argentina and Cuba in Saturday's B final.
After a sixth place finish in Friday's semifinal, the lightweight women's double sculls duo of Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) will now compete in the B final on Saturday. Trannel and Hedstrom will race against Cuba, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden and The Netherlands for places 7-12.
The lightweight men's pair of John Wainwright (Alameda, Calif.) and Alex Rothmeier (Boston, Mass.) will compete against Japan, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Germany for places 7-11. The U.S. duo finished fifth in its repechage on Wednesday.
The eight-day regatta features 973 athletes racing in 358 crews from 54 nations. Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed throughout the regatta at www.worldrowing.com. Live coverage of racing August 27-30 will be streamed on the Web at www.universalsports.com.