U.S. Crews Win Gold & Silver at 2009 World Rowing Champs

Erin Cafaro and Susan Francia made history in the women’s pair on Saturday, winning the first-ever gold medal in the event for the United States at the world championships, while the women’s four won silver on the first day of finals at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

The women’s pair of Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) and Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) won each of its preliminary races en route to a 0.35-second victory over Romania and the gold medal. In the final, the U.S. duo was in fourth place at the 500-meter mark but moved up into second by the halfway point. Cafaro and Francia, both members of the eight that won gold in Beijing, edged out Romania’s Camelia Lupascu and Nicoleta Albu to win in a 7:06.28.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” said Francia. “I glanced out in the sprint and saw we were inching ahead; I just wanted to go.”

Romania led the pack for nearly the entire length of the course before crossing second in a 7:06.64. New Zealand’s Emma Feathery and Rebecca Scown, gold medalists from Munich and Lucerne, finished 0.3 seconds behind Romania for the bronze medal in a 7:06.94. Germany crossed fourth in a 7:08.28, followed by Australia and Great Britain in fifth and sixth, respectively. Cafaro and Francia are doubling up in the eight that will race for medals in Sunday’s final.

In the women’s four, the crew of Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.), Eleanor Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine), Jamie Redman (Spokane, Wash.) and Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) held off Canada for the silver medal. The Netherlands led the race from start to finish, winning the gold medal in a 6:31.34. The U.S. boat was in fourth place at the 500-meter mark, but was able to pull ahead of Belarus by the halfway point to move into third. A bad stroke at the 1,250 meter-mark set the U.S. crew back only momentarily; the quartet quickly recovered and took the Canadians in the sprint, crossing 0.86 seconds ahead in a 6:36.01. Canada clocked a 6:36.87 for the bronze medal, with Australia third in a 6:37.71. Germany and Belarus finished in a dead heat for fifth with a time of 6:42.23.

“It was a little bumpy, but we had fun out there,” said stroke-seat Lofgren, who won silver in the event at the 2008 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships.

“It was a very aggressive race,” said Logan, a Beijing gold-medalist in the women’s eight. “We were racing in a strong tailwind today, which was the opposite of the conditions in the race for lanes. I think we executed the race plan really well.”

In the adaptive men’s single sculls, Ron Harvey (Long Beach, Calif.) finished fourth in the final, just 2.66 seconds short of a podium finish. Australia’s Benjamin Houlison sprinted into the third to edge out the U.S. sculler in the final 250 meters. Great Britain’s Tom Aggar led from wire-to-wire, winning his third-straight world championship title in a 4:51.48. Ukraine’s Andrii Kryvchun took silver in a 5:07.37, with Houlison crossing in a 5:12.11. Harvey, who placed fifth in the event at the 2008 Paralympic Games, clocked a 5:14.77. New Zealand’s Antony Tinga crossed in fifth with a time of 5:16.67, followed by Italy’s Efrem Morelli in a 5:20.19.

The men’s pair of Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) finished fifth in the final, crossing the line in a 6:33.16. The U.S. crew was in sixth place through the first half of the race course before moving ahead of South Africa in the third 500 meters. New Zealand’s Eric Murray and Hamish Bond led from the start, crossing 1.52 seconds ahead of Great Britain’s Peter Reed and Andy Triggs Hodge at the line to win gold in a 6:15.93. Great Britain clocked a 6:17.93, followed by Greece third in a 6:23.01 and France in fourth with a time of 6:24.69.

Ellen Tomek (Flushing, Mich.) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) finished sixth in the final of the women’s double sculls, clocking a 6:54.16. Coming off of a gold-medal performance in Lucerne and a fifth-place finish at the 2008 Olympic Games, the U.S. duo was first off the line and led the pack at the 500-meter mark before slipping back over the second half of the course. Poland’s silver-medal Lucerne boat of Magdelena Fularczyk and Julia Michalska won gold in a 6:47.18, followed by Great Britain’s Anna Bebington and Annabel Vernon in a 6:48.82 for silver. Bulgaria’s boat of Rumyana Neykova and Miglena Markova sprinted to bronze from its sixth-place position at the 1,500-meter mark, overtaking three crews, including the U.S., and crossing in a 6:50.16. Australia finished fourth in a 6:52.18, with Czech Republic fifth in a 6:53.48.

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.) crossed third in the B final for a ninth-place finish overall. The U.S. boat was third at the 500-meter mark, but moved into the second position by the 1,500-meter mark. The Ukrainian crew responded just before the line, finishing 0.22 seconds ahead. Australia led the race from the start, winning in a 5:31.72.

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.) finished sixth in the B final for 12th place overall. The U.S. was in fourth place over the middle 1,000 meters, but fell behind in the last stretch, crossing in a 5:51.24. Slovenia won the race in a 5:46.81.

In the lightweight women’s double sculls, Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) were fifth in the B final, crossing the line in a 7:10.37 for an 11th-place overall finish.

The lightweight men’s pair of John Wainwright (Alameda, Calif.) and Alex Rothmeier (Boston, Mass.) finished fifth in the B final for 11th place overall. The U.S. crew rowed in fifth position the entire length of the course, crossing the line in a 7:03.69.

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.) finished sixth in the B final for 12th place overall. The U.S. boat was in fifth place over the middle 1,000 meters, but fell back to finish 1.24 seconds behind Canada at the line. Spain won the race in a 5:57.35.

Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) finished sixth in the B final of the men’s single sculls for 12th place overall. After a boat-stopping crab at the halfway mark, Anderson crossed the line in a 7:06.06. Lithuania’s Mindaugas Griskonis won the race in a 6:47.55.

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.

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