USRowing Senior National Team Announced: A Look at the 2014 Squad Set for Action in Amsterdam



The U.S. senior national team has been announced, and its a formidable group that will be heading to Amsterdam later this month for the 2014 World Rowing Championships. And, thanks to USRowing and Curtis Jordan, we've got a inside look at this year's squad. While there are several new-look crews set to enter the fray on the Bosbaan, there are also a number of well-established names on the roster, including three very notable returners—on the women's side, Eleanor Logan is back in the women's eight (where she has won two-straight Olympic gold medals) after a season in the single (and a very successful one at that, making the final at the world championships in her first go around in the boat class), and 2012 Olympian Gevvie Stone will represent the U.S. again in the W1x; on the men's side, two-time Olympian David Banks is back in the mix, sitting in the two seat of the eight.

Here are a few more looks at the U.S. men's eight:






And the U.S. women's eight:


Also of interest—a couple clips from training and pieces featuring the M8+, the M4-, and the M4x:




In the smaller boats, the men's quad includes brothers Pete (2012 Olympian) and John Graves, along with Green Racing Project teammates Ben Dann and Stephen Whelpley. The women's quad is a new crew that will feature two athletes in their first year on the senior team (Tracy Eisser and Grace Latz), and two athletes with senior-level experience but who have never raced internationally in a sculling boat (Felice Meuller and Olivia Coffey).

The men's and women's fours look like podium favorites, with the men's crew all returning from last year's bronze medal campaign (though this version has UC Davis alum Seth Weil at stroke, with Mike Gennaro in the two seat), and the women's lineup featuring a great mix of youth (Tessa Gobo—who won this event last year—and Emily Regan) and experience (Olympians Susan Francia and Adrienne Martelli).

The U.S. lightweight men's four training in OKC:


Other crews that caught our eye are the men's and women's lightweight singles (Andrew Campbell is fresh off a victory at the U23 world championships, Kate Bertko is arguably the best athlete in the field), the men's lightweight four (three of four returning from last year's fifth-place crew), the women's double (Tomek and O'Leary seem to be gelling together and have tremendous upside as a crew), and the men's pair (made up of two of the top athletes in the sweep squad, 2012 bronze medalists from the M4- Charlie Cole and Glenn Ochal). Finally, 2012 Paralympian Andrew Johnson will be testing the waters in a sculling boat at the international level for the first time after six seasons in the LTAMix4+. This year, Johnson will be racing in the LTAMix2x with Stephanie Cox.

The complete roster is available on the official website of USRowing. The 2014 world championships are now less than three weeks away! In the meantime, here's a link to event information, scheduling, and updates via World Rowing.

-RR

Trending posts this month

"I Row Crew" — Rowing in 'The Social Network'

Image
Like many of the rowing faithful, I've been keeping up with the saga penned by Dan Boyne about the filming of the rowing scenes in David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network , and I must say I had high hopes going into the film. The first problem I encountered: the phrase, "I row crew." It was uttered so many times before anyone "rowed crew" on the water that I had trouble buying any of it later. It's understandable that the character of Mark Zuckerberg makes that mistake, since he has no idea about the sport. But when the Winklevoss twins themselves utter the phrase several times, one begins to wonder where Boyne was when these lines were not being chopped or changed. Seriously, who says that? As far as the actual rowing goes, the first scene, which has the twins out training in a pair along with the rest of the Harvard squad, is not all bad — it just ends that way. The line, "Those guys are freakin' fast" is certainly every b...
Read more

The 30 Best Rowing Coaches of All Time, Part 3: The Top 10

Image
The top 10 best rowing coaches, including guess who (Photo © Iain Weir / Rowing Photography ) It's time for the third and final part of our 3-part series on the best of the best in the rowing coaching ranks. These coaches not only command respect based on performance, but have also shown the ability to adapt to new circumstances, build dynasties, and ultimately help shape the trajectory of rowing as a sport. Honestly, it would be easy to extend this series into 10 more posts... But we wouldn't do that to you. As we've said before, the hope is that the following may serve to educate and spark discussion, as both an appreciation of history and of the coaching craft. Also note: As we stated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, there are few women in this list, but that is a reflection of a general underrepresentation of women in the head coaching ranks in our sport—and indeed (as has been well documented ) a growing number of NCAA sports in the United States. ...
Read more

So, are Naked Rowing Calendars a Thing Now?

Image
Warwick rowers are all in again this year (Photo courtesy of Warwick Boat Club)  The phenomenon started four years ago with the Warwick Rowing men's squad. Then, the following year, the Warwick women's team joined the fray. Now, Newcastle University's men and women are back on the naked calendar train. So, the question is, have rowing and naked calendars become a thing? The above video features the 2014-2015 Warwick women's squad—the third edition of the calendar , and, from the looks of it, the raciest. However, perhaps not so racy as that of the 2014-2015 Warwick men (see below). But raciness aside, all four of these teams have chosen worthy charities and have gone "the full monty" to make sure that those causes have received considerable contributions. The Warwick women contribute to Macmillan Cancer Support —a cause for which Warwick reports it has donated some £5,000. The Warwick men? Sport Allies —a charity that combats homophobia in spor...
Read more

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? At Marin Rowing Association, Culture is Key

Image
Hands in after training  My alarm goes off—it’s 4:22am.  It’s been a while since I did this. Immediately, I think back to a college dorm room, rolling out of bed and running down the steps to carpool caravan to Marina Del Rey.  Not this time, though. It’s a Tuesday in late September, and I’m heading across the Golden Gate Bridge to Greenbrae, California, where I’ll meet with the Marin Rowing Men’s Masters squad. Fortunately, it’s an unusually warm morning—and when I roll in, the boathouse is already buzzing with activity.  Launch time: 5:10. Heading out into the Bay before dawn The Marin Rowing Association program has both men’s and women’s masters boats competing to win at every event they attend. In the fall, that can only mean one thing: The Head Of The Charles .  The boat that Coach Rodrigo Rodrigues and I spend most of our time with is the Grand Masters eight—average age 60+. But that’s just one of five crews that launched with us that morning. Everyone’s ...
Read more

Winter Workouts: Why Do Rowers Fear the Erg?

Image
Op-Ed from the RowingRelated Editorial Staff Friend. Not foe. (Illustration: B. Kitch) I am really frustrated by our sport when it comes to the erg being viewed as a torture device rather than a helpful tool that people can enjoy. This negative mindset, which is extremely contagious, plagues the sport, preventing athletes from training to their potential and possibly serving as one of the reasons that careers in rowing, at every level, are often so short. When compared to other endurance sports, I have not encountered an equal level of disdain for such fundamental mental and physical endurance training. My main problem is that everywhere I turn in the rowing community, whether it's high school rowers, college athletes, or even national team hopefuls, I hear of people dreading the erg. I've never heard about a cross country runner 'dreading' a track workout. True, basketball and football players may dread running wind sprints or other such conditioning acti...
Read more