July 28, 2008

Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University graduates Mike Altman ('97), Vince Puma ('90) Michael Aller ('99) and women's novice lightweight coach Sarah Trowbridge were all competitors in the 2008 FISA World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships from Linz, Austria. Altman was part of the U.S. lightweight men's eight that won gold on the final day of competition, while Trowbridge and the women's four brought home a silver medal.

The lightweight men's eight made a push at the halfway point to move up from the third-place position, overtaking the defending world champion crew from The Netherlands. The U.S. finished in a strong sprint to finish first in 5:50.29, followed by Germany in 5:51.69. The Netherlands fell to third place for the bronze medal, clocking a 5:52.37, with Italy crossing fourth in 5:53.46. Altman will now compete in the 2008 Olympic lightweight four in Beijing.

In the women's four, Trowbridge's boat won silver after fighting back from fourth position at the 500-meter mark, to clock a 6:43.56. Belarus led the entire length of the course to finish first in 6:39.89. After a protest in the finish of the race, the Russian crew was excluded and Denmark was awarded the bronze medal, finishing with a time of 6:44.69. Trowbridge competed on the 2007 Pan American Games Team where the U.S. won gold in the event at last year's championships.

In the lightweight men's quadruple sculls, Aller's crew finished sixth in the final, crossing in 6:07.15. Although the U.S. crew had a blistering start out of the starting blocks, it couldn't maintain its speed going into the final stretch. The defending world champions from Italy won gold with a time of 5:57.30, with France close behind for the silver medal in a 5:57.56.

Puma served as the coxswain in the men's pair as the U.S. finished third in the B final, placing ninth overall. After finishing fourth in the semifinal behind Ukraine and missing a spot in the final by just 0.29 seconds, the U.S. crew was first off the start line. Hungary won the race in 7:14.62, with Serbia crossing second at 7:16.08 and the U.S. clocking in at 7:16.23. Puma finished fourth in the event at the 2006 FISA World Rowing Championships.

In total, over 900 competitors from 55 nations competed in this week's combined championships. Germany led the medal standings, with a total of fourteen senior and junior medals. The 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships will be held August 23-30 in a Poznan, Poland, while the 2009 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships will be held August 5-8 in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France.