2023 Rowing World Championships: Meet the US women in the boat
The Rowing World Championships just kicked off in Belgrade, Serbia and the United States have sent 22 boats stacked with Olympic and World Champions with intentions of bringing home the hardware and securing quotas for Paris 2024.
Rowing
As the first of three opportunities to secure quotas to the Paris 2024 Olympics, US Rowing put together 22 female, male and mixed boats as they look to find themselves on top of the podium to bring home medals and Olympic quotas.
With nine all-female boats made up of 27 athletes, meet the crew that makes up some of the United States’ strongest and fastest women.
Women's eight
With an even split of four athletes returning to their second consecutive World Championships and four first-time senior team members with one 2022 alternate, the world will see if the US can finally land on top of the podium after two narrow misses with fourth place finishes at the 2022 World Championships and Tokyo 2020 Olympics*.* This year, they will face off in a pool of eight total boats between two heats on Tuesday, 5 September.
Coxswain: Cristina (Nina) Castagna
Named the coxswain of the women’s eight, Cristina Castagna is one of four first-time senior team members. She just concluded her fifth year at the University of Washington with two podium finishes at the NCAA Championships; silver in 2023 and bronze in 2021.
Emily Froehlich
Also a first-time senior team member, Emily Froehlich graduated from the University of Texas in 2018 as a two-time All-American and three-time Big 12 champion (8+). Most recently, she finished third in the pair at the 2023 US Rowing National Selection Regatta and took silver in the same boat at the 2022 Pan American Games Trials. She also came second at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in 2017.
Margaret Hedeman
From Concord, Massachusetts, Margaret Hederman wrapped up her senior year at Yale University in the spring of 2023 being named on the first team All-America and first team All-Ivy selection. Also a CRCA Athlete of the Year finalist, Hederman took gold as the five seat at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in 2022. This will be her first time as a senior team member.
Jessica Thoennes
With a series of fourth-place finishes including at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, 2022 World Rowing Championships and World Rowing Cup II, the world will see whether gold is in the cards for Jessica Thoennes and the United States’ eight this week. Theonnes saw much success during her years at the University of Washington with two gold medals at the NCAA Championships — one in the varsity eight in 2017 and another in the second varsity eight in 2018.
Brooke Mooney
As another University of Washington graduate and Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Brooke Mooney was a senior team alternate for last year's World Rowing Championships in 2022. She finished fourth in the same eight as Thoennes, Salmons and Buck in Tokyo, and for the NCAA Championships, she took gold in the varsity eight in 2017 and silver in 2018.
Alina Hagstrom
Returning to the senior team for the second year in a row, Alina Hagstrom was in the eight at the 2022 World Championships alongside Theonnes, Salmons and Buck. She took gold at the 2018 U23 World Championships in the women’s pair, just before graduating from Oregon State University as a two-time All-American.
Regina Salmons
Also returning for her second consecutive World Championships in the women’s eight, Regina Salmons’ career highlights include rowing alongside Theonnes, Buck and Mooney at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and winning gold in the women’s pair at the 2018 U23 World Championships in a boat with Hagstrom.
Mary (Daisy) Mazzio-Manson
As the fourth of the first-time senior team members for the women’s eight, Mary Mazzio-Manson (who primarily goes by Daisy) was named first-team All-Ivy for the 2018 and 2019 seasons at Yale, finished third in the eight at the 2019 World Rowing U23 Championships and won NCAA Championships in the varsity eight as a graduate student at The University of Texas in 2021.
Charlotte Buck
Charlotte Buck is one of four veterans returning to the World Championships for the women’s eight for the second consecutive year. A fourth-place 2020 Olympian in the US women’s eight, Buck is another American athlete to have seen a series of fourth-place finishes including last year’s Worlds and the 2022 and 2023 World Rowing Cup II. Will she break the streak in Belgrade?
Quadruple sculls
This year, with a 13-boat field, the quadruple sculls favourites will be People's Republic of China, who won gold at both the 2020 Olympics and last year's World Championships in 2022.
Lauren O’Connor
Lauren O’Connor will make her Rowing World Championships debut in Belgrade. While at the University of Wisconsin, she was named Academic All-Big Ten twice and has international experience at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II where she finished fifth in the double skulls and seventh in the quadruple sculls.
Molly Reckford
With a silver medal in the lightweight double sculls at both the 2023 World Rowing Cup and 2022 World Championships last year, Molly Reckford is making a transition into the quad for the first time since 2019 when she won the lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2019 Senior World Championships Trials III and finished fourth at the 2019 World Rowing Championships.
Grace Joyce
Returning for her second consecutive year in the quadruple scull, Grace Joyce finished ninth last year at the 2022 World Championships. Recently, she took home hardware at the 2023 Pan American Games Qualification Regatta, where she won gold in the single sculls and silver in the quad. She was a lightweight rower at the University of Wisconsin.
Emily Kallfelz
Another veteran returning for her second consecutive year, Emily Kallfelz has been on eight US national teams through her time as a junior and senior athlete and was named US Rowing’s U23 Athlete of the year in both 2018 and 2019. At Princeton University, she was named First-Team All-American and First-Team All-Ivy after an undefeated regular season.
Four
In a pool of 16 boats, the United States women’s four will face off against powerhouses from Great Britain, Australia and the Netherlands among others. This quad of women took the gold at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II in Italy earlier this year and will be looking to do the same this week in Belgrade. At the time of writing, the women’s four advanced to the semifinals.
Claire Collins
Claire Collins returns to the World Championships for her second year after taking gold at the World Rowing Cup II with the same crew in June of 2023. It will also be her second consecutive Worlds and she will attempt to land back on the podium after winning bronze in the pair in 2022. She doubled up at last year's championships, also rowing in the eight that narrowly missed the podium. A Tokyo 2020 Olympian and two-time medalist at the U23 Championships, Collins is returning to Belgrade to add to her list of successes.
Madeleine Wanamaker
Also in the silver-winning pair with Collins last year and gold-winning four earlier this year, Madeleine Wanamaker returns to the Worlds racecourse for the second consecutive year. Seeing huge success in the last couple of years including attending the Tokyo Olympics and landing on the podium after doubling up at the 2022 World Championships, Wanamaker only started rowing as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin in 2013.
Kelsey Reelick
Part of the gold-medal power four, Kelsey Reelick is a force to be reckoned with going into Belgrade. Last year, she was in the eight that finished in fourth and third in the pair at the 2022 National Selection Regatta II. She has an NCAA gold under her belt in Princeton’s varsity eight, as well as a silver and fourth place finish in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
Molly Bruggeman
As the final member of the gold medal four at the 2023 Rowing World Cup II, Molly Bruggeman has seen international success since 2012 when she raced at the U23 World Rowing Championships. She is a multi-skilled rower who has raced fours, eights and quadruple sculls for the United States senior national team. She was the alternate for the US at the last Olympics and this will serve as her sixth World Championships where she will attempt to win her third medal, having won gold in 2018 and silver in 2016, both in a four.
Double sculls
The power duo of Sophia Vitas and Kristi Wagner come together again in an attempt to take gold at the World Championships after missing out by 0.1 seconds to take silver at the 2023 World Rowing Cup earlier this summer in Italy. The pair also raced double sculls at last year's World Championships in 2022, finishing in fifth. They will face 19 other crews in Belgrade including Romania’s reigning World Champions. At the time of writing, the double has advanced to the semifinals.
Lightweight double sculls
Michelle Sechser will be returning to this race for the second consecutive year after winning silver in 2022 and will be joined by new crew member, seven-time national team member Mary Jones Nabel. The two will go up against 20 other boats, including defending world champions, Team GB. At the time of writing, Jones Nabel and Sechser have advanced to the semifinals.
Michelle Sechser
And 11-time national team member and Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Michelle Sechser has been representing the United States since her first time in 2011 where she took the bronze in both the lightweight double and quadruple sculls at the Pan American Games. Sechser is aiming to add a third medal to her World Championships title after her silver medal in 2022 and bronze in 2017.
Mary Jones Nabel
Returning to the World Championships in Belgrade for the sixth time, Mary Jones Nabel has a silver medal in this boat at the Worlds. In 2018 she took second place at the World Championships and gold at the 2022 World Rowing Cup. She is a seven-time national team member who made her debut at the Worlds nine years ago in 2014.
Pair
Together, this duo won silver at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II. They will face 22 crews in Belgrade.
Meghan Musnicki
A 10-time national team member, Meghan Musnicki is an American machine. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2012 and 2016) in the eight and was a member of the fourth-place eight at the Tokyo 2020 Games. With five gold and six total World Championships medals, Musnicki is the most decorated American rower attending the Championships in Belgrade this year.
Alie Rusher
A 2020 Olympian and two-time NCAA medalist, Alie Rusher was a first-team All-American rower at Stanford who graduated in 2018. In Tokyo, she raced in the quadruple scull that finished 10th and in 2018 she won bronze in the eight at the U23 World Championships.
Lightweight pair
Elaine Tierney and Solveig Imsdahl
The pair won the silver medal together at the 2022 World Championships and will be returning this year in the hope of claiming the gold. The pair will race against just two other boats, crews from Italy and Germany. Italy took the gold last year, but have announced that they are sending different athletes to this edition in Belgrade.
Single sculls
Kara Kohler
A 10-time national team member, Tokyo 2020 Olympian and two-time World Championships medalist, Kara Kohler will face 31 other boats in Belgrade including the reigning World and Olympic Champions. She recently won bronze at the 2023 World Rowing Cup II, as well as taking the World Championships gold in 2011 in the four and bronze in 2019 in the single. At the time of writing, Kohler has advanced to single sculls quarterfinals.
Lightweight single sculls
Sophia Luwis
After injuries from a car accident took her out of the running for the 2022 World Rowing Championships, Sophia Luwis made a hot comeback in 2023, winning gold in the lightweight single sculls at both the 2023 World Rowing Cup and 2023 Bled International Regatta. Gold seems to be her colour as she also won the light single sculls and light eight in the U23 World Championships and senior light quad sculls at the 2019 Canadian Henley. At the time of writing, Luwis has advanced to the single sculls quarterfinals.
Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.