It was a successful second day of the 2024 Olympics regatta for UW alumni Sunday, as all three Huskies in action advanced successfully to the next level of competition in their events.
Four Washington Rowing alumni got their Olympic competition underway Saturday morning in Paris, with Simon van Dorp, Ben Davison, and Tabea Schendekehl all moving through directly to the next level.
There may be no richer tradition when it comes to Washington athletics than the Huskies’ Olympics rowing history. Dating back to “The Boys in the Boat” – the UW men’s crew that brought home a gold medal from the 1936 Berlin Games – Washington men and women have established a long track record of successes in the Olympics.
Washington’s national champion men’s varsity eight crew lost to Oxford Brookes University & Taurus Boat Club in the final of the Henley Royal Regatta Grand Challenge Cup in heart-breaking fashion, as the Huskies’ oars made contact with the booms on the edge of the race course midway through the race, bringing the boat nearly to a stop and ceding the British crew an insurmountable advantage.
Washington’s national champion men’s varsity eight crew will race for the Grand Challenge Cup Sunday at Henley Royal Regatta after beating a crew from Princeton Training Center & Craftsbury Racing Project Saturday.
A Washington women’s four lost its Town Challenge Cup quarterfinal race vs. a crew from Leander Club Friday, on day four of the Royal Henley Regatta. The Husky crew fell to Leander’s “A” entry, which had beat another Leander crew on Thursday to move on to the quarterfinals, by 2 ½ lengths.
Washington rowers Ryan Smith & Ethan Blight fell in the round of 16 of the Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup Thursday, but there’s much more UW-related action Friday at 2024 Henley Royal Regatta, including a UW women’s four racing in a Town Challenge Cup quarterfinal.
The Washington women’s rowing team will compete in the Town Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta next month in Henley-on-Thames, U.K. The UW women will send a straight four to compete in the event.
The Washington men’s rowing team will return to the Henley Royal Regatta this July, as the Huskies will enter crews in both the Grand Challenge Cup and the Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup.