Canadian athletes pose with flag and flowersMerijn Soeters/Rowing Canada Aviron
Merijn Soeters/Rowing Canada Aviron

Canadians row to double bronze at World Rowing Cup

The Women’s Doubles team of Andrea Proske and Gabrielle Smith and the Women’s Eight squad both rowed to bronze at the World Rowing Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Sunday.

The first to reach the podium was Andrea Proske and Gabrielle Smith in Women’s Doubles. Pushing through the challenging conditions, the pair finished at 08:03.77s, trailing behind Romania (07:58.39s) and Australia (07:59.11s).

This is the duos second World Cup medal after earning a previous silver medal at the 2018 World Cup 3 in Lucerne.

To finish off the event, the Women’s Eight crew was able to row to a bronze medal of their own. The squad includes Madison Mailey, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Avalon Wasteneys, Stephanie Grauer, Christine Roper, Susanne Grainger, Jennifer Martins, Rebecca Zimmerman, and Kristen Kit. Their time of 06:46.77s put them behind New Zealand (06:32.40s) and Australia (06:36.04s).

Jen Casson and Jill Moffatt also won the B Final to place them seventh overall in the Light Weight Women’s Double Sculls.

During the Women’s Four A Final, the CAN 1 team of Hillary Janssens, Nicole Hare, Sydney Payne and Lisa Roman finished in fourth place. Then, in the Women’s Four B Final, the CAN 2 team of Morgan Rosts, Colleen Nesbitt, Karen Lefsrud and Kristin Bauder finished 12th overall.

The women’s crews will now return home to prepare for the 2019 World Championships from August 25-September 1 in Linz, Austria. The 2019 World Championships are qualifications for Tokyo 2020.