The junior women's eight won a silver medal and Lindsay Meyer became the first U.S. junior women's sculler to ever medal at the championships when she won bronze in the single sculls on Saturday to highlight the final day of competition at the 2006 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Meyer, a native of Seattle, Washington, made history when she crossed the finish line in bronze-medal position in the single sculls, becoming the first female sculler to ever medal at the junior world championships.
"It's a pretty amazing feeling," said Meyer of her historic accomplishment. "I don't think it has sunk in yet."
Meyer got off the line in sixth place but moved into third as the scullers crossed the 1,000-meter mark. She then made a strong push during the third quarter of the race to pull away from South Africa's Kirsten McCann, solidifying the bronze medal. Meyer crossed the finish line with a time of 8:10.11. Poland's Natalia Madaj led the race from wire-to-wire to win gold in a time of 8:04.99. Germany's Juliane Domscheid took the silver medal with a time of 8:07.18.
"It was a hard race," Meyer said. "I was definitely not first off the (start) line, but I didn't let that bother me and just tried to race my race. I don't really know when I moved into third. I just tried to keep working."
FISA, the international rowing federation, started offering junior women's events in 1979, but the United States had never won a medal in any women's sculling event until today. Meyer also became the first U.S. single sculler, male or female, to win a medal at the junior world championships since 1976.
The junior women's eight made a little history of its own by winning the silver medal, tying the top finish ever for a U.S. junior women's eight. The crew of coxswain Ariel Frost (Oakland, Calif.), Adrienne Mecham (Lake Stevens, Wash.), Jennifer Cromwell (Bellevue, Wash.), Maren McCrea (Larkspur, Calif.), Desiree Burns (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Elise Wilson (Montara, Calif.), Nancy Graves (Washington, N.C.), Sarah Gribler (Marysville, Wash.), and Katelin Kelley (Seattle, Wash.) clocked a 6:28.08 to finish 2.62 seconds behind the winners from Romania. Romania led the race from start-to-finish, while the U.S. held second place the entire way down the course. Romania stroked a 6:25.46. Germany took home the bronze medal. The U.S. had won silver medals in the event twice previously in 1999 and 2003.
"We never went into the race hoping to get second, but they put up a good fight. It was a good race," McCrea said. "I think we are all very happy with our performance."
The men's eight of coxswain Zach Vlahos (Piedmont, Calif.), Nick Lucey (San Francisco, Calif.), Jack Lindeman (Sewell, N.J.), Carl Thunman (Herndon, Va.), Michael Lombardi (Mt. Laurel, N.J.), Chris Courtin (Buffalo, N.Y.), Tom Kicinski (Vashon Island, Wash.), Lucas Spielfogel (Boca Raton, Fla.), and Vince Berry (East Lansdowne, Pa.) finished in fifth place. The crew sat in third after 500 meters, but it dropped to fourth in the second quarter of the race and was unable to stay in contact with the top three crews. The U.S. crossed the finish line with a time of 5:52.21. New Zealand won the race in a 5:43.50, followed by Germany and Italy.
In the women's four, Taryn O'Connell (Oakland, Calif.), Ariel Shaker (Palo Alto, Calif.), Hayley Johnson (Woodway, Wash.), and Charlotte Chuter (Woodside, Calif.) won the B final to finish in seventh place overall. The crew jumped out to the early lead, building more than a two-second advantage by the 500-meter mark and extending it to eight seconds at the midway point of the race. The crew finished with a time of 7:17.90, finishing nearly eight seconds ahead of Romania's 7:25.88.
The men's four with coxswain of Kerry Quinn (Havertown, Pa.), Noah Bruegmann (Lafayette, Calif.), Cole Bonner (Chicago, Ill.), Karl Hirt (Fort Worth, Texas), and Joel Peterson (Fairfax Station, Va.) also won the B final to finish seventh overall. The crew sat in second position through the 1,000-meter mark before overtaking Ireland in the second half of the race. The U.S. crossed the finish line with a time of 6:33.08, finishing 3.59 seconds ahead of Ireland.
Caroline Nash (Darien, Conn.) and Michaela Strand (Seattle, Wash.) finished second in the B final of the women's pair for an eighth-place overall finish. The duo led for almost the entire race before being caught at the line. The U.S. clocked a 7:55.17 to finish 0.14 seconds behind Poland.
The women's double sculls tandem of Lori Gordon (Winchester, Mass.) and Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, Vt.) finished sixth in the B final for a 12th-place overall finish. The duo sat in fourth through the first 1,500 meters before dropping back to sixth. The U.S. clocked a 7:58.15. Switzerland won the B final with a time of 7:46.08.
In the men's single sculls, Robin Prendes (Miami, Fla.) won the C final for a 13th-place finish overall. Prendes got off the line quickly and took control of the race in the first 500 meters. He crossed the finish line with a time of 7:28.85 to finish 1.69 seconds ahead of Estonia's Rauno Talisoo.
The women's quadruple sculls quartet of Brittney Kelly (Wexford, Pa.), Erin Dauson (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Suzanne Maddamma (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and Briana Pittman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished sixth in the C final for an 18th-place overall finish. The crew finished with a time of 7:22.20, 0.02 seconds behind fifth-place Latvia. Denmark won the race in 7:13.12.
In the men's quadruple sculls, Sebastian Kirwan (Wilton, Conn.), Carter Lindborg (Coatesville, Pa.), A.J. DiValerio (Malvern, Pa.), and William Kelly (New Canaan, Conn.) finished sixth in the D final for a 24th-place finish overall. The quartet crossed the finish line with a time of 6:33.74. Japan won the D final in a 6:18.94.
In the men's double sculls, Daniel Kenefick (New Canaan, Conn.) and Brendan McEwan (New Canaan, Conn.) won the E final to finish 25th overall. The duo led the entire way down the course, clocking a 7:09.92 to defeat Zimbabwe by 3.22 seconds.