Five Badgers compete at row world championships
September 22, 2023 | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing, Lightweight Rowing
Vitas returns home with double sculls bronze medal
BELGRADE, Serbia – Five Badger alumni recently wrapped up their time competing at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. The event took place Sept. 3-10 on Sava Lake. Â
Sophia Vitas led the way, where she, along with her boatmate Kristina Wagner, captured a bronze medal in the women's double sculls race, giving Team USA its first medal in the event since 2018. The duo also helped the USA secure a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympic games in the boat class.
Vitas and Wagner came into the picture in the middle 1000 meters, where their sprint created distance between Ireland in fourth place but narrowly missed passing Lithuania in the final stretch.
"It feels good," Vitas said to USRowing. "It feels like we are reaping some of the rewards of putting so much work into it. The more time we have together in the boat, the more trust we are building. That's starting to pay off a little bit."
Lithuania's time of 6:50.34 barely edged out the American's time of 6:50.45 to take second place. Defending world champion Romania came in first with a time of 6:46.94.
2020 Olympian Maddie Wanamaker raced in the women's four, finishing in fourth place behind the Netherlands, Romania and Great Britain, respectively.Â
Wanamaker and her crew also helped the USA clinch a spot in the women's fours race at the Paris 2024 Olympics.Â
The Wisconsin alum duo of Lauren O'Connor and Grace Joyce held spots on the women's quadruple sculls. Their crew finished in fifth place in the B final and 11th place in the world.
James Catalano participated in the championships as the coxswain of the men's eight team and finished in sixth place in the final. The Americans were three seconds off of medal pace, with Great Britain taking the top spot over the Netherlands and Australia.
Finally, former UW lightweight assistant coach Todd Vogt won silver in the PR3 mixed double sculls to qualify his boat for Paris.
