RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL -Men's single sculler Andrew Morley (Seattle, Wash.) opened the 2015 World Rowing Junior Championships with a resounding victory in his heat, getting the U.S. off to a strong start at the regatta that is serving as rowing's 2016 Olympic test event.
One year from today, the Rio Olympics will get underway with the Opening Ceremony at Maracanã Stadium, but today, the five heats of the men's single sculls got racing started at junior worlds. ?
Racing in the fourth heat, Morley took control in the first 250 meters and earned open water in the first quarter of the race. Morley continued to build his lead over the second 500 and entered the last half of the race with a lead of more than 11 seconds.
"The goal was to go out there and win the heat, so I had a one seed for the quarterfinals," Morley said. "After 250 meters, I was up by about a length, so I kept a calm rhythm and cruised through the middle 1,000. I took it up a little bit in the last 250, but really once I was ahead, I knew I just had to stay ahead to maintain my placing"
Morley crossed the finish line in a time of 7:21.23, 13.82 seconds ahead of Norway's 15 Adrian Lindgren. He will now race in the quarterfinals on Friday.
"I'm definitely excited to go into the quarterfinal," Morley said. "I know I have a lot more energy in the tank. I'm excited to go out there and hopefully qualify for the A/B semifinal.
As the only event with more than 24 entries, the men's single was the only boat class to require a Wednesday start. The remaining U.S. boats will hit the water on Thursday beginning at 8:30 a.m.
In the women's single sculls, Eliza Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I.) will take on scullers from Greece, Croatia, Germany and Switzerland in the fourth of four heats.
The women's pair of Ashlyn Dawson (Annapolis, Md.) and Arianna Lee (Folsom, Calif.) will be the next boat on the course, racing crews from France, Chile, Italy and Germany in the second of two heats.
The men's pair of Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn.) and Lucas Manning (Westport, Conn.) will follow the women's pair to the line. The duo will take on France, South Africa and China in the second of three heats.
Joe Sterner (St. Charles, Ill.) and Jack Luby (Barrington, R.I.) will take on Estonia, Hungary, The Netherlands, Germany and Chile in the third of three heats of the men's double sculls, while the women's double sculls duo of Elise Beuke (Sequim, Wash.) and Isabella Strickler (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) will race against crews from Norway, Japan, Germany, Great Britain and Denmark in the second of two heats.
Last year, the women's four won a silver medal at the junior world championships. This year, returnees Dana Moffat (Manlius, N.Y.) and Marlee Blue (Seattle, Wash.) will be joined by Kaitlyn Kynast (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Katy Gillingham (Seattle, Wash.) in their quest to get back to the medal stand. The crew will race Russia, Germany and New Zealand in the second of two heats on Thursday.
In the men's four with coxswain, Wyatt Harrell (Tallahassee, Fla.), Michael Cuellar (Alameda, Calif.), Pau Turina (Portland, Ore.), Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore.) and Piers Deeth-Stehlin (Ross, Calif.) will race Great Britain, Italy and Ukraine in the second of two heats.
Junior national team veterans Daniel Hogan (Lafayette, Calif.), Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn.) and Benjamin Cohen (Allentown, Pa.) have been joined by newcomer Brock Bozzani (Long Beach, Calif.) in the men's four. The crew will race China, Germany, Denmark, Bulgaria and Spain in the first of three heats.
Likewise, the women's quadruple sculls crew has three junior national team veterans in Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I.), Elizabeth Sharis (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa). Along with newcomer Meghan Gutknecht (Guilderland, N.Y.), the crew will take on Switzerland, Great Britain, France and Denmark in the first of three heats.
The men's quadruple sculls of David Orner (Darien, Conn.), Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla.), Kris Petreski (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) and Phoenix Susak (Lake Oswego, Ore.) will race in the second of four heats against Denmark, Mexico, Russia and Brazil.
Coxswain Hannah Malzahn (Edmond, Okla.), Shayla Lamb (Kent, Conn.), Sarah Ondak (Denver, Colo.), Julia Cornacchia (Darien, Conn.), India Robinson (Berkeley, Calif.), Kailani Marchak (Long Beach, Calif.), Abigail Tarquinio (Nashville, Tenn.), Mariko Kelly (San Diego, Calif.) and Lindsay Noah (San Francisco, Calif.) will race Italy, Australia and The Netherlands in the first of two heats of the women's eight, while the men's eight of coxswain Ethan Ruiz (Newport Beach, Calif.), Mark Levinson (San Francisco, Calif.), Hunter Johnson (Winnetka, Ill.), Cameron Chater (Berkeley, Calif.), Ethan Seder (Berkeley, Calif.), Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis.), Charles Watt (Acton, Mass.), James Palmer (Rye, N.Y.) and Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa.) will race Italy and Russia in the second of two heats.
Racing continues on Friday with the repechages and quarterfinals. Saturday's racing features semifinals in eight events and the C through E finals, which determine overall placements 13-25. The A finals (places 1-6) and B finals (places 7-12) take place on Sunday starting at 8:30 a.m.
At the 2014 World Rowing Junior Championships in Hamburg, Germany, the U.S. won a silver medal in the women's four and a bronze medal in the women's pair. Fourteen athletes return from the 2014 squad.