PLOVDIV, Bulgaria – Former Wisconsin women's rower Maddie Wanamaker (Neenah, Wisconsin) sat bow seat for the women's four without coxswain and helped her crew become a world champion.

Racing predawn Madison time, Wanamaker's crew clocked a time of 6:25.570 to beat defending world champion Australia by 1.52 seconds in the A final to claim the gold medal.

The American crew got the final with wins in its heat and its semifinal earlier in the week, posting the fastest time in the semifinal and the second-fastest clocking of the heats.

Wanamaker previously won a silver medal at the 2017 World Under 23 Rowing Championships in the women's eight, also in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
 

• The Badgers other three world championship competitors also raced on Saturday.
• Vicky Opitz (Middleton, Wisconsin) rowed with the women's pair to ninth place overall, taking third in the B final.
• Opitz, already with three women's eight world titles, will also race in Sunday's A final in the women's eight with a chance to win a fourth gold medal in the event.
• Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wisconsin) took 11th in the men's quadruple sculls with a fifth-place result in the B final.
• Dariush Aghai (Skokie, Illinois) finished 13th in the men's four with a victory in the C final.

NBC Sports Network will show delayed coverage of the 2018 World Rowing Championships on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. CT.
 
2018 World Rowing Championships
Sept. 15, 2018
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2000 meters

Women's Four (Maddie Wanamaker)
A Final
1. USA, 6:25.570; 2. Australia, 6:27.090; 3. Russia, 6:27.360; 4. Denmark, 6:28.780; 5. Poland, 6:32.050; 6. China, 6:39.840

Women's Pair (Vicky Opitz)
B Final (Places 7-12)
1. Great Britain, 7:17.460; 2. Australia, 7:18.940; 3. USA, 7:19.700; 4. Ukraine, 7:24.760; 5. Russia, 7:27.480; 6. Hungary, 7:36.960

Men's Quadruple Sculls (Michael Knippen)
B Final (Places 7-12)
1. Great Britain, 5:39.880; 2. Germany, 5:40.690; 3. France, 5:44.000; 4. Russia, 5:46.840; 5. USA, 5:47.850; 6. Lithuania, 5:52.510

Men's Four (Dariush Aghai)
C Final (Places 13-17)
1. USA, 5:48.740; 2. France, 5:51.260; 3. New Zealand, 5:53.190; 4. Austria, 5:54.800; 5. Russia, 5:58.360