WEST WINDSOR, N.J. The first finals of the mens single sculls, womens single sculls, womens double sculls, and lightweight mens double sculls were completed Friday morning at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Rowing at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J. However, the results were somewhat overshadowed by the sudden retirement of Xeno Müller, the Swiss Olympic medalist who earned his U.S. citizenship earlier this year and was trying to make the U.S. squad.
Müller, who won the gold medal in the single sculls in Atlanta in 1996 and the silver medal in the event in Sydney in 2000, rowed to the starting line for the first final of the mens single sculls but pulled himself out of the competition five minutes before the start of the race.
There are responsibilities that I carry as an athlete, responsibilities of family in California, Müller said after the race. Family, finances, etcetera & I was trying to pull all of that together this year. The recent news on television was depressing. It put the bigger picture into question & I think it hits you when you are most vulnerable. In my case, thats three or four minutes before the start of the race. I just decided I need to start the next part of my life.
With Müller out of the race, Harvard University Boat Clubs Adam Holland (Philadelphia, Pa.) took advantage, edging out Pocock Rowing Centers Conal Groom (Northford, Conn.) by 0.25 seconds to win the first final. Holland clocked a 6:59.19 to Grooms 6:59.44. Saugatuck Rowing Clubs Ken Jurkowski finished third. With finals being a best two-out-of-three format, Holland is in a strong position entering Saturdays second final. Groom and Jurkowski also advanced to the second final.
Pocock Rowing Centers Jennifer Devine (Portland, Ore.), a 1996 Olympian, easily won the first final of the womens single sculls. Devine stroked a 7:42.25 to defeat Augusta Rowing Clubs Cindy Bishop (Atlanta, Ga.) by 9.79 seconds. Pocock Rowing Centers Anne Browning finished second in a time of 8:01.47, followed by Pocock Rowing Center/Riverside Boat Clubs Ann Holmes. Devine, Bishop and Browning will face off in tomorrows second final.
In the first final of the womens double sculls, Augusta Rowing Clubs Ala Piotrowski and Carol Skricki (Norwood, Mass.) got the best of the Princeton Training Center duo of Kristin Goodrich (Portola Valley, Calif.) and Dana Peirce (Richmond, Va.). Piotrowski and Skricki finished in a time of 7:00.40, while Goodrich and Peirce finished 2.62 seconds behind in a 7:03.02. Potomac Boat Clubs Katie Madigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Catherine Humblet (Cambridge, Mass.) came in third, clocking a 7:04.88. PTCs Megan Cooke and Lia Pernell finished fourth. The top three finishers moved on to the second final.
The duo of Steve Tucker (Mooresville, Ind.) and Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio), who were both members of the 2000 Olympic Team, easily won the first final of the lightweight mens double sculls. Tucker and Ruckman stroked a 6:27.60 to defeat the Augusta Rowing Club duo of Michael Aller (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Shawn Stephenson (Raleigh, N.C.) by 6.54 seconds. Aller and Stephenson clocked a 6:34.14. MLARC/NYACs Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) and Rich Montgomery finished third in a time of 6:34.25, with teammates John Cashman (Sausalito, Calif.) and Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.) finishing fourth. The top three finishers moved on to the second final.
The best two-out-of-three finals format continues Saturday at 7 a.m. with the second finals. Third finals will be held Sunday at 7 a.m., if necessary.
While four boat classes are being contested in this set of trials, the winners will still have some work to do in order to qualify for the Olympic Games. In these four events, the U.S. did not earn automatic qualification slots for the Olympics at the 2003 World Championships. Therefore, the winners of the trials will have to qualify for the Games at the Olympic Qualification Regatta June 13-16 in Lucerne, Switzerland.