The U.S. qualified for four more Paris Olympic rowing events at the final qualification regatta and will field its largest Olympic rowing team in 12 years.
The U.S. qualified via top-two results Tuesday in Lucerne, Switzerland, in men’s single sculls (Jacob Plihal, who is 6 feet, 10 inches); men’s double sculls (Ben Davison and Sorin Koszyk), women’s quadruple sculls (Lauren O’Connor, Teal Cohen, Emily Delleman and Grace Joyce) and the men’s eight (coxswain Rielly Milne, Pieter Quinton, Evan Olson, Peter Chatain, Chris Carlson, Clark Dean, Christian Tabash, Nick Rusher and Henry Hollingsworth).
All but Dean are first-time Olympians.
The U.S. men’s quad sculls was edged for an Olympic spot by Estonia by 13 hundredths of a second.
In total, the U.S. qualified in 12 of the 14 Olympic rowing events (including every women’s event for a fifth consecutive Games) and will bring 42 athletes to Paris. It will be its largest Olympic roster since having 44 athletes at the 2012 London Games.
The full Olympic team roster is here.
Earlier this spring, 26 rowers were named to the Olympic team either by discretionary selection or by winning the Olympic Trials in boats already qualified for the Games.
Meghan Musnicki is the oldest member of the team at 41 years old and the only one who already owns an Olympic gold medal (in the eight in 2012 and 2016).
She is in line to break the record of oldest U.S. Olympic female rower held by Lisa Schlenker, who competed at the 2004 Athens Games at age 39. Musnicki will tie the American record of four Olympic rowing appearances, according to the OlyMADMen.
The youngest rower on the team is William Bender, a 22-year-old who won the pair at trials with Oliver Bub.
In Tokyo, the U.S. did not win a rowing medal for the first time at an Olympics to which it sent rowers.
At last September’s world championships, the U.S. won four medals in events that are on the Olympic program.
