Wednesday, September 20, 2000
Two local rowers advance to finals
By Paul Daugherty
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bryan Volpenhein is far right on the U.S. men's eight.
(AP photo)
600 | 1024
|
SYDNEY, Australia - Two American rowing teams won their races early today, meaning two Cincinnatians will have a chance at gold medals in the finals Sunday.
Both the men's eight and the women's quadruple sculls rallied from disappointing performances two days ago to win their repechage competitions. The men, favored to win gold, finished the 2,000-meter course in 5:43.22; the women came home in 6:34.63.
“We knew this was the last chance. We had to go all out,” said Kelly Salchow, the UC and Walnut Hills graduate.
Salchow and her teammates battled nerves Monday, in their opening heat, to finish third. Anything less than second today would have put them out of medal competition. They led from start to finish.
The finals are Sunday. The Germans, who have never lost this race since its inception in 1985, are favored, along with the Russians.
“We definitely have to race better than we did today” on Sunday, Salchow said.
The men's eight, which includes Bryan Volpenhein, also led the whole way, setting up a Sunday final against likely challengers Great Britain and Russia. The U.S. eights have won the last three world titles.
Rowers profile
Complete Olympics coverage at Cincinnati.com/olympics
Sports Stories
