PARIS – Tabea Schendekehl '20 became the first UW alumna to win an Olympic medal at the Paris games, helping lead the German quad sculls to a bronze medal on day five of the Olympic regatta.
 
A two-time NCAA champion during her time at Washington, Schendekehl was the stroke of the 2019 NCAA championship women's varsity eight that came from sixth place halfway through the grand final to win the national title, perhaps the greatest final in NCAA regatta history. Wednesday in Paris, her German quad trailed the field at 1,000 meters, but rowed through China, Switzerland, and Ukraine to earn the bronze.
 
"We believed in ourselves and that was the most important thing," Schendekehl told her national team website (translated from German here). "What went through my head when I saw it was bronze? That it was worth everything I put into rowing and all the hard times."
 
The women's quad final was a thriller, as Great Britain passed the Netherlands on the final stroke to earn the gold by 0.15 seconds.
 
Schedekehl's medal means that a UW Rowing alum has medaled in each of the last six Olympiads, and in seven of the last eight. She's the 47^th Husky to win an Olympic rowing medal, and the first ever for Germany (men or women).
 
Earlier Wednesday, American Jessica Thoennes '18 and her United States women's pair partner, finish second and their A/B semifinal, earning a berth in A final. They will race for a medal Friday morning.
 
Also, Wednesday, Teal Cohen '20 (USA) and her women's quad finished third in the B final, good for ninth place overall.
 
Thursday is a big day of racing for the Huskies. Three UW alumni will row for medals: Ben Davison '18 (USA) in the men's double sculls; and Kiwis Logan Ullrich '23 and Phoebe Spoors '17 in the men's and women's fours, respectively.
 
Another three will vie for spots in A finals in the men's and women's eights, where five crews will race for four berths in each of the repechages. Gert-Jan van Doorn will compete for the Netherlands on the men's side, while Nina Castagna '22 (USA) and Aisha Rocek '25 (Italy) will race in the women's event.
 
See the full schedule of events below.
 
NBC TV Viewing Information
 
CBC TV (Canada) Viewing Information
 
Washington Rowing Alumni in the 2024 Olympics
 
Men's Single – M1x
Simon van Dorp '20, Netherlands
 
Women's Pair – W2-
Jessica Thoennes '18, USA
 
Men's Double – M2x
Ben Davison '18, USA
 
Women's Four – W4-
Phoebe Spoors '17, New Zealand
 
Men's Four – M4-
Logan Ullrich '25, New Zealand
 
Women's Quad – W4x
Teal Cohen '21, USA – 9^th place
Tabea Schendekehl '20, Germany – Bronze medal
 
Women's Eight – W8+
Nina Castagna '22, USA
Holly Dunford '22, Great Britain
Aisha Rocek '25, Italy
 
Men's Eight – M8+
Chris Carlson '18, USA
Rielly Milne '18, USA
Evan Olson '19, USA
Pieter Quinton '21, USA
Jacob Dawson '16, Great Britain
Gert-Jan van Doorn '21, Netherlands
 
Spare, PR3 Mixed Coxed Four – PR3Mix4+
Danielle Hansen '17, USA
 
Coaches
Michael Callahan '96, USA men's eight coach
Lori Dauphiny '85, USA women's pairs coach
Adrienne Martelli '10, USA women's sweep coach
 
SCHEDULE OF RACES (UW-related only)
 
Men's Single Sculls (M1x) – van Dorp
A/B Semifinal 1: Thu., Aug. 1, 9:50 a.m. CET/12:50 a.m. PDT
A Final: Sat., Aug. 3, 10:30 a.m. CET/1:30 a.m. PDT
 
Men's Double Sculls (M2x) – Davison
A Final: Thu., Aug. 1, 11:30 a.m. CET/2:30 a.m. PDT
 
Women's Pairs (W2-) – Thoennes
A Final: Fri., Aug. 2, 11:42 a.m. CET/2:42 a.m. PDT
 
Women's Four (W4-) – Spoors
A Final: Thu., Aug. 1, 11:50 a.m. CET/2:50 a.m. PDT
 
Men's Four (M4-) – Ullrich
A Final: Thu., Aug. 1, 12:10 p.m. CET/3:10 a.m. PDT
 
Women's Eight (W8+) – Castagna, Dunford, Rocek
Repechage (Castagna & Rocek): Thu., Aug. 1, 10:10 a.m. CET/1:10 a.m. PDT
A Final: Sat., Aug. 3, 10:50 a.m. CET/1:50 a.m. PDT
 
Men's Eight (M8+)  – Carlson, Milne, Olson, Quinton, Dawson, van Doorn
Repechage (van Doorn): Thu., Aug. 1, 10:20 a.m. CET/1:20 a.m. PDT
A Final: Sat., Aug. 3, 11:10 a.m. CET/2:10 a.m. PDT