Princeton University Athletics
Five Princeton Rowers Will Compete For Gold This Weekend
August 13, 2008 | Heavyweight Rowing
Five Princeton rowers, including all four competing in either the men's
or women's eights, will compete for gold medals during the middle
weekend of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Among them are Steve Coppola
(U.S.) and Sam Loch (Australia), who were teammates on the 2006
Eastern, Head of the Charles and Ivy League champion Princeton squad,
but who will be meeting three lanes from each other Sunday at 5:30 a.m.
Eastern time. That will come 20 minutes after NCAA championship teammates Caroline Lind (U.S.) and Andreanne Moran (Canada) race for gold one lane apart.
Both men's teams qualified for the A final by finishing in the top two in Tuesday's repechage. The U.S. led after 500 and 1000 meters, but Australia grabbed the lead at the 1500-meter mark. With the fastest final 500 meters of any team in the field, the U.S. regained the lead and held on to win in 5:38.95, while Australia finished second in 5:40.31. The third-place Netherlands and fourth-place Poland squads also reached the finals and will join heat winners Canada and Great Britain in the six-team final.
Coppola rows in the 6-seat for the U.S. team, while Loch rows in the 2-seat for Australia. The Americans will row in the second lane, while the Australians will come from the fifth lane.
Lind helped the U.S. 8- avoid any dramatics in the repechage. Rowing in the 7-seat, she guided the U.S. to a win in the first heat of the competition. The U.S. led by more than two seconds after 500 meters and never let any other squad get within two seconds at the 1000-, 1500- or 2000-meter mark. Moran's Canadian squad finished third in that heat, but it qualified for the final by winning the repechage in 6:10.50. Canada trailed the Netherlands by less than one second after 500 meters, but it gained the lead at the midway point of the race and never looked back. Moran rows in the 2-seat for Canada, which will row in the second lane of the gold medal final; the U.S. will row in the third lane.
The final Princetonian seeking gold this weekend, and the only one not from the Class of 2006, will be Lia Pernell '03. Rowing in the bow for the U.S. quadruple sculls, Pernell helped the U.S. to a second-place finish in its repechage (6:39.53). The 4:30 a.m. final will have the U.S. rowing in lane five.
Paul Teti '01, rowing in the two-seat for the U.S. men's fours, will row in Thursday's B final after finishing fifth in its semifinal heat. Needing a third-place finish to reach the gold medal race, the Americans went out quickly and held third at the 500-, 1000- and 1500-meter marks. Australia made its move then, going from fifth to second and ultimately forcing the U.S. out of the top three.
All of Sunday morning's gold medal races will be shown live online on NBCOlympics.com.