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2012 Olympic Trials – Rowing Begin Tuesday
June 11, 2012
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – London is on the line.
Olympic Trials – Rowing returns June 12-14 to Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The event will select the men’s single sculls, men’s pair and women’s pair crews that will represent the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London this summer.
Four scullers are entered in the men’s single including Beijing Olympian
Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.), California Rowing Club’s
Mike Sivigny (Somersworth, N.H.), All-American Rowing Camp’s
Jim Dietz, II (Amherst, Mass.) and Seattle Rowing Center’s
Jon Greer (Chester, N.H.). Jurkowski, who qualified the boat at the 2011 World Rowing Championships last fall, proved himself as the fastest single sculler in the country at National Selection Regatta #1 in March, but then missed out on a top-four finish at either of the first two 2012 World Rowing Cup stops – placement that would have qualified him for London.
Jurkowski, Sivigny, Dietz and Greer will compete in a race for lanes on Tuesday, with the final scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Thursday. The winner will earn automatic qualification to the 2012 Olympic Rowing Team, pending final United States Olympic Committee approval.
Fourteen crews are set to compete in the men’s pair, including four USRowing Training Center boats.
Michael Gennaro (Havertown, Pa.) and
Ty Otto (Seattle, Wash.) are coming off of a win in the pair and the eight at the 2011 Pan American Games, while 2004 Olympic gold medalist
Jason Read (Ringoes, N.J.) has teamed up with
Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.), a four-time national team member. USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City’s
Silas Stafford (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and
Tom Peszek (Farmington Hills, Mich.) are set to race, as are USRowing – OKC’s
Justin Stangel (Madison, Wis.) and
Andrew Gallagher (Phoenix, Ariz.). Peszek and Stangel finished ninth in the event at the 2011 World Rowing Championships.
The men’s pair event also features five California Rowing Center crews. Among the athletes racing are
Ryan Monaghan (Pittsford, N.Y.),
Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) and
Derek Johnson (Hillsborough, Calif.). In addition, nine-time U.S. national team member and two-time Olympian
Jamie Koven (Green Village, N.J.) of New York Athletic Club has paired up with
Mike Blomquist (Greensboro, N.C.), a five-time national team member.
Four heats of the men’s pair are scheduled for Tuesday, beginning at 7:30 a.m., with the winner advancing directly to Wednesday’s semifinals. The final for the men’s pair is set for 7:45 a.m. Thursday. The winner will earn automatic qualification to the 2012 Olympic Rowing Team, pending final United States Olympic Committee approval.
Two USRowing Training Center crews will face off in the women’s pair event with
Jamie Redman (Spokane, Wash.) and
Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) taking on
Sara Hendershot (West Simsbury, Conn.) and
Sarah Zelenka (Itasca, Ill.). Redman and Polk, both five-time U.S. national team members, won gold and set a world best time in the heat of the women’s eight at the 2012 Samsung World Rowing Cup in Lucerne last month. Hendershot and Zelenka were members of the four that won gold at the 2011 World Rowing Championships. A race for lanes is scheduled for 8:10 a.m. Tuesday, with the final set for 8:00 a.m. Thursday. The winner will earn automatic qualification to the 2012 Olympic Rowing Team, pending final United States Olympic Committee approval.
A full schedule and results will be available at
www.usrowing.org.
The finals of the 2012 Olympic Trials – Rowing will air on June 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. EDT on NBC Sports Network. A record 67.5 hours of event coverage – 43 on NBC Sports Network and 24.5 on NBC – will feature nine sports in addition to rowing – including live primetime coverage of trials for diving, swimming, gymnastics and track & field, as well as events for water polo and field hockey.
Members of the media interested in obtaining Olympic Trials – Rowing credentials should contact Allison Frederick, USRowing Communications Manager at
Allison@usrowing.org or (609) 751-0710.
About USRowing
USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing’s official suppliers include Boathouse Sports, Vespoli, WinTech, Filippi, Croker Oars, Rudy Project, Concept2, Nielsen Kellerman, PowerHTV and Ludus Tours. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation and its corporate sponsors and partners ANXeBusiness Corp, Voxer, EZ Dock, EMCVenues, The Perfect SNAQUE and INDi. For more information, visit www.usrowing.org. USRowing has created The Row to London to engage sponsors leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games, with proceeds going to help ensure the U.S. team’s success. Opportunities also exist to partner with America Rows – supporting diversity initiatives and adaptive programs. For more information, please contact Beth Kohl at beth@usrowing.org.
Allison Frederick
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