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L to R: British silver medalists Oswald Stocker, Matt Benstead, Tom George, and David Bewicke-Copley
Photo by: Princeton Crew
Princeton Rowers Claim Eight Medals At U-23, Junior World Championships
September 06, 2016 | Heavyweight Rowing, Women's Rowing - Lightweight, Men's Rowing - Lightweight
Eight Princeton rowers, including four who have yet to officially compete in Orange and Black, claimed major international racing medals at either the U-23 World Championships or the Junior World Championships, both of which were held simultaneously in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The Princeton heavyweights had 11 of the 16 rowers in Rotterdam, and seven of the 11 returned to campus with medals. Each of the four rowing programs had at least one competitor in Rotterdam, and each had at least one incoming freshman in competition.
The highlight performance for Princeton came in the men's eight competition at the U-23s, where five members of the Rowe Cup-winning Tiger heavyweights represented either Great Britain or the United States. The USA duo of rising captain Nick Mead and Trey Francis — both of whom were members of the 2016 IRA bronze medalist V8+ — led the USA to a 10th-place finish overall.
Great Britain, however, made a dramatic run to the medal stand. Tim Livingstone, Matthew Benstead and incoming freshman David Bewicke-Copley led the British to a silver medal with a time of 5:57.26, about two seconds faster than Germany in the final.
"Our strength has always come from our length and good rhythm but we took 600 meters to find it in the final," said Livingstone, referring to a start that left the British boat fourth after the first split. "We let the strong cross headwind compromise our length and relaxation off the start. However, after saying goodbye to the Dutch in the first kilometer, we had the aggression to kick start our rhythm and climb back into contention.
"We showed that we had the experience to claw back a good result from a deep, deep hole and that can only be a positive for us Princeton guys going forwards," Livingstone added.
Besides returning with a medal, the trio can also bring a great deal more to the program as it attempts to rise to the top spot on the Sprints and IRA podiums.
"This was a really special week and we plan to ensure that our racing experience at a competition like this gives us an advantage going into next years season with Princeton," Benstead said. "The level of training this summer was far more intense than any of us had encountered before, and so we hope to maximize the physical benefits gained from this summer. Despite our significant physical improvements, above all we hope to take on board a number of technical aspects of the rowing stroke from the Great Britain team into the Princeton squad."
Tom George and incoming freshman Oswald Stocker also won silver medals for Princeton. George, another member of the medal-winning Princeton V8+ last year, won silver during a furious sprint to conclude the fours final. The British boat made a hard charge at Austria, but its final time of 5:50.60 finished less than a half second out of first.
"We knew we had a great profile to our race, and our speed to the 1000m mark was pretty hot," George said. "We knew we could hold that and I think we underestimated another crew's ability to do so. We thought we would probably get through with about 150 to go, but credit to the Austrians, as we moved back, one of them shouted something and they held on to the line. In terms of excitement, it's finishes like that that make you come back and do it again. Unfortunately I was on the wrong end of it this time, and 0.4 seconds makes it a harder pill to swallow.
"This kind of week is phenomenal," he added. "To experience such a high level of racing makes it so worthwhile — every stroke, every erg. What is great is that we had a number of Princeton guys competing in a high class event, and that will stand us in great stead going forward. All close racing will benefit our squad at Princeton, and all the tough results simply add to the desire to win."
Stocker won silver in the G.B. 4- at the Junior World Championships. His boat basically held position through much of the race and finished well ahead of everybody but Romania, which took gold by about five seconds.
Two of Stocker's future heavyweight teammates, Sebastian Benzecry and Andy LeRoux, also both won medals at Junior Worlds. Benzecry took bronze as a member of the British eight, while LeRoux won bronze with the American quad.
The two other heavyweights in competition were 2016 captain Martin Barakso and rising junior Dan de Groot; the duo raced together in the Canadian four, and it won its petite final at the U-23 World Championships.
The men's lightweights brought one medal back to Princeton, as Oskar Arzt-Jones won bronze with the British men's eight at the Junior World Championships. The boat was out of medal position at the midway point of the race, but it caught and surpassed New Zealand during the third 500 meters to claim third.
Fellow incoming lightweight Adam Teece rowed for the British pair and took 10th.
Two members of the women's programs raced at the U-23 World Championships. Rising sophomore Emily Kallfelz stroked the American women's double sculls to a fourth-place finish in the A final. The Americans finished in 7:34.00, but couldn't catch Romania for the final spot on the medal stand.
Incoming lightweight Emma Hopkins competed for the American lightweight double, and that boat finished 15th.
The lone Princeton woman at the World Juniors was incoming open freshman Molly Milligan, who helped the American quad to a ninth-place finish.
PRINCETON ROWERS IN ROTTERDAM
The Princeton heavyweights had 11 of the 16 rowers in Rotterdam, and seven of the 11 returned to campus with medals. Each of the four rowing programs had at least one competitor in Rotterdam, and each had at least one incoming freshman in competition.
The highlight performance for Princeton came in the men's eight competition at the U-23s, where five members of the Rowe Cup-winning Tiger heavyweights represented either Great Britain or the United States. The USA duo of rising captain Nick Mead and Trey Francis — both of whom were members of the 2016 IRA bronze medalist V8+ — led the USA to a 10th-place finish overall.
Great Britain, however, made a dramatic run to the medal stand. Tim Livingstone, Matthew Benstead and incoming freshman David Bewicke-Copley led the British to a silver medal with a time of 5:57.26, about two seconds faster than Germany in the final.
"Our strength has always come from our length and good rhythm but we took 600 meters to find it in the final," said Livingstone, referring to a start that left the British boat fourth after the first split. "We let the strong cross headwind compromise our length and relaxation off the start. However, after saying goodbye to the Dutch in the first kilometer, we had the aggression to kick start our rhythm and climb back into contention.
"We showed that we had the experience to claw back a good result from a deep, deep hole and that can only be a positive for us Princeton guys going forwards," Livingstone added.
Besides returning with a medal, the trio can also bring a great deal more to the program as it attempts to rise to the top spot on the Sprints and IRA podiums.
"This was a really special week and we plan to ensure that our racing experience at a competition like this gives us an advantage going into next years season with Princeton," Benstead said. "The level of training this summer was far more intense than any of us had encountered before, and so we hope to maximize the physical benefits gained from this summer. Despite our significant physical improvements, above all we hope to take on board a number of technical aspects of the rowing stroke from the Great Britain team into the Princeton squad."
Tom George and incoming freshman Oswald Stocker also won silver medals for Princeton. George, another member of the medal-winning Princeton V8+ last year, won silver during a furious sprint to conclude the fours final. The British boat made a hard charge at Austria, but its final time of 5:50.60 finished less than a half second out of first.
"We knew we had a great profile to our race, and our speed to the 1000m mark was pretty hot," George said. "We knew we could hold that and I think we underestimated another crew's ability to do so. We thought we would probably get through with about 150 to go, but credit to the Austrians, as we moved back, one of them shouted something and they held on to the line. In terms of excitement, it's finishes like that that make you come back and do it again. Unfortunately I was on the wrong end of it this time, and 0.4 seconds makes it a harder pill to swallow.
"This kind of week is phenomenal," he added. "To experience such a high level of racing makes it so worthwhile — every stroke, every erg. What is great is that we had a number of Princeton guys competing in a high class event, and that will stand us in great stead going forward. All close racing will benefit our squad at Princeton, and all the tough results simply add to the desire to win."
Stocker won silver in the G.B. 4- at the Junior World Championships. His boat basically held position through much of the race and finished well ahead of everybody but Romania, which took gold by about five seconds.
Two of Stocker's future heavyweight teammates, Sebastian Benzecry and Andy LeRoux, also both won medals at Junior Worlds. Benzecry took bronze as a member of the British eight, while LeRoux won bronze with the American quad.
The two other heavyweights in competition were 2016 captain Martin Barakso and rising junior Dan de Groot; the duo raced together in the Canadian four, and it won its petite final at the U-23 World Championships.
The men's lightweights brought one medal back to Princeton, as Oskar Arzt-Jones won bronze with the British men's eight at the Junior World Championships. The boat was out of medal position at the midway point of the race, but it caught and surpassed New Zealand during the third 500 meters to claim third.
Fellow incoming lightweight Adam Teece rowed for the British pair and took 10th.
Two members of the women's programs raced at the U-23 World Championships. Rising sophomore Emily Kallfelz stroked the American women's double sculls to a fourth-place finish in the A final. The Americans finished in 7:34.00, but couldn't catch Romania for the final spot on the medal stand.
Incoming lightweight Emma Hopkins competed for the American lightweight double, and that boat finished 15th.
The lone Princeton woman at the World Juniors was incoming open freshman Molly Milligan, who helped the American quad to a ninth-place finish.
PRINCETON ROWERS IN ROTTERDAM
| Name | Event | Nation | Boat | Finish | Princeton Team |
| Oskar Arzt-Jones | Junior | Great Britain | JM8+ | Bronze | Men's Lightweights |
| Martin Barakso | U-23 | Canada | M4- | 7th | Heavyweights |
| Matthew Benstead | U-23 | Great Britain | M8+ | Silver | Heavyweights |
| Sebastian Benzecry | Junior | Great Britain | JM8+ | Bronze | Heavyweights |
| David Bewicke-Copley | U-23 | Great Britain | M8+ | Silver | Heavyweights |
| Dan de Groot | U-23 | Canada | M4- | 7th | Heavyweights |
| Trey Francis | U-23 | USA | M8+ | 10th | Heavyweights |
| Tom George | U-23 | Great Britain | M4- | Silver | Heavyweights |
| Emma Hopkins | U-23 | USA | LW2x | 15th | Women's Lightweights |
| Emily Kallfelz | U-23 | USA | W2x | 4th | Open |
| Andy LeRoux | Junior | USA | JM4x | Bronze | Heavyweights |
| Tim Livingstone | U-23 | Great Britain | M8+ | Silver | Heavyweights |
| Nick Mead | U-23 | USA | M8+ | 10th | Heavyweights |
| Molly Milligan | Junior | USA | JW4x | 9th | Open |
| Oswald Stocker | Junior | Great Britain | JM4- | Silver | Heavyweights |
| Adam Teece | Junior | Great Britain | JM2- | 10th | Men's Lightweights |
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