USRowing Announces Big-Boat Crews

A new-look US men’s eight will compete at the World Championships in Lucerne next week, as US Rowing announces a young 2001 national team.

Just nine 2000 Olympians are included in the US quad which includes 48 first-time elite national team members.

In the men’s eight, only two-time world champion Bryan Volpenhein remains from the Olympic crew – the core of which dominated the event in the late 1990s.

The women’s eight contains none of the Sydney 2000 crew but 29-year-old national team veteran and 1998 eights silver medallist Wendy Wilbur will bring some vital experience to the crew.

USRowing named most of its small boat crews along with the lightweight quadruple sculls at last month’s trials but the big boats were named on Saturday.

The men’s coxless four is the same crew that appeared at the Zurich Rowing World Cup regattas this year. Sydney Olympians Michael Wherley and Eric Mueller return, with former coxed four world champion Garrett Klugh and Ryan Torgerson.

Hilary Gehman stays in the women’s quad after Sydney and is joined by eight Olympian Sarah Jones, women’s double Olympian Carol Skricki and Laura Rauchfuss.

In the men’s quad, Aquil Abdullah makes a return to the national team, with Steve Gillespie, Grant Nichols and John Lorton.

World lightweight eights champions Gabe Winkler and Steve Warner are to try their chances in the Olympic-class lightweight men’s coxless four with Patrick Todd and Lucas Ahlstrand.

Full team details are available on the USRowing website at www.usrowing.org

The FISA World Rowing Championships run from August 18-26.