California Rowing Club Athletes Lead Team USA Medal Haul at World Cup II in Poland

The California Rowing Club had an inspiring showing at the World Rowing Cup II in Poznan, Poland this past week, with seven of its members winning medals for Team USA at the international competition.

 Ben Davison grabbed a bronze in the Men’s Singles Scull race, coming from behind late to finish in third behind Melvin Twellaar of the Netherlands and France’s Matthieu Androdias. Davison was able to medal despite being a relative newcomer to singles competition at the Men’s Senior Level.

Also medaling for the US team was the Men’s 4 squad of Andrew Gaard, Michael Knippen, Chris Carlson and Pieter Quinton—all from the CRC—who, like Davison, made a dramatic rally to capture the bronze medal. The foursome outsprinted team China on the back stretch to snag the third spot behind Australia and the Netherlands, who took home the gold and silver medals, respectively.

In the Men’s Pairs race, Justin Best and Michael Grady captured yet another bronze medal for Team USA. Best and Grady, both CRC athletes, narrowly lost out on the silver medal to the Netherlands, finishing less than a second out of the second position. New Zealand won the gold. CRC member Andrew Leroux, also racing in the Men’s Pairs along with Michael Clougher of the Penn Athletic club, placed 10th in the competition.

"I am severely proud of how all our CRC athletes performed at the recent World Rowing Cup in Poland,” said CRC Coach Mike Teti. “This is the first medal for 7 of our athletes on the Senior level and a validation of all the hard work they've put in since August. I don't recall a time when a single club produced three medals at a World Cup event, so obviously we're happy with the results. I want to thank the Rogers Family for their vision and our coaches and support staff for their dedication to our program"

“We’re proud of all our athletes who competed at the World Cup in Poland,” said CRC Coach Skip Kielt. “They put forward a good effort, and it showed with 7 CRC athletes coming home with a medal this weekend. We also know that some key countries did not attend this race, so the competition will only get more difficult. It’s a long summer for the athletes. We are in Italy for a week on training camp before racing again at the Henley Royal Regatta the following week. They then come back to the States for final selection before their run up to the World Championships in September.“

By virtue of winning their events at USRowing's National Selection Regattas earlier this year and finishing in the top six in Poznan, Davison Best and Grady have earned the opportunity to be named to the 2022 World Championships' roster in their respective events. That trio has until Thursday, June 30, to declare their intent to compete in the event, which will take place in the Czech Republic in September.

Since the foursome of Gaard, Knippen, Carlson and Quinton advanced to the World Rowing Cup II via selection, and not by winning the National Selection Regattas, they do not automatically qualify for World Championships. However, they could still be chosen to represent Team USA at the World Championships as part of the selection process.