MILAN, Italy - Four U.S. boats - the women's four, men's pair with coxswain, lightweight men's eight, and women's pair - will race for medals during the first day of finals on Saturday at the 2003 FISA World Rowing Championships on the Idroscalo in Milan, Italy. The U.S. will have nine additional crews racing in finals on Sunday.
Lianne Nelson (Seattle, Wash.) and Katie Hammes (La Crosse, Wis.) finished second in their semifinal of the women's pair to advance to Saturday's final. The duo used an outstanding second half of the race to chase down Canada and finish less than one second behind the pair from Great Britain. Nelson, a 2000 Olympian in the women's eight, and Hammes will face the heat winners from Great Britain and Romania, as well as crews from Belarus, Canada, and China on Saturday. With this year's world championships serving as the initial Olympic qualifier for countries and by virtue of reaching the final, Nelson and Hammes have guaranteed the United States a berth in the women's pair at the 2004 Olympics as long as they cross the finish line. (The qualifier is for countries only and does not qualify the individual athletes for the Games.)
The other three U.S. boats competing on Saturday will be seeing their first action of the regatta as they are all racing in final-only events.
In the women's four, Wendy Wilbur (East Bridgewater, Mass.), Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), and Whitney Webber (Sacramento, Calif.) will try to improve on last year's fifth-place finish. Wilbur is a seven-time national team member and a two-time world championships' medalist, while Webber and Davies are two-time senior national team members. Last year, Davies was a member of the women's eight that won the gold medal in Seville, Spain. Malcos is a first-time senior national team member. The quartet won an exhibition row earlier in the week and will face crews from Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the Netherlands on Saturday.
The pair with coxswain of Andy Kelly (Philadelphia, Pa.), Matt Rich (Duluth, Minn.) and Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.) will try to duplicate or improve on the silver medal won by last year's crew. Beery, a two-time national team member, was part of last year's silver-medal boat, while coxswain Rich and Kelly are first-time national team members. On Saturday, the trio will face boats from Italy, Australia, Canada, and Egypt in the race for the medals.
The lightweight eight of coxswain Joe Finelli (Boston, Mass.), Eric Feins (Rochester, N.Y.), Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.), Gus Maclaurin (Peterborough, N.H.), John Wall (North Wales, Pa.), Bill Fedyna (Maple Glen, Pa.), John Wachter (Mt. Laurel, N.J.), and Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio) will try to win a medal in the event for the U.S. for the sixth consecutive year. Last year, the lightweight eight, which included Feins and Paradiso, won a bronze medal. This year's crew includes six national team veterans and three rookies. On Saturday, the U.S. will take on boats from Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and France.
In total, the U.S. has 24 crews (one in each event) competing in Milan. Racing runs from August 24-31. Finals conclude on Sunday.
In addition to crowning the world's best in each of the 24 disciplines, this week's world championships also serve as the initial qualifier for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, as 130 of the 202 boat spots will be determined. Rowers in the 14 Olympic-class boats - the men's single sculls, women's single sculls, men's double sculls, women's double sculls, men's quadruple sculls, women's quadruple sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, men's pair, women's pair, men's four, lightweight men's four, men's eight and women's eight - will be fighting for their countries' Olympic berth in each of the disciplines. Countries that do not qualify in a particular category in Milan will have a second chance to qualify for the Games early next summer. The qualifier is for country slots only and does not qualify individual rowers for the Olympic Games.