The U.S. claimed bronze in men’s eight in Shanghai after a photo finish saw reigning Olympic champions Great Britain outrow the Americans by 0.16 seconds.
Rachel Rane, Pieter Quinton, Gus Rodriguez, Billy Bender, Madison Molitor, Alexander Hedge, Michael Herman, Jacob Hudgins, and Christian Tabash represented the U.S.. After a false start prompted the crews to line up the boats again, the Americans sprinted into second during the early stages of the race.
By the 1,000m mark, the U.S. was neck and neck with Australia and Great Britain. The U.S. cleared Australia over the third 500m, rowing stroke-for-stroke with the British during the final sprint. Great Britain narrowly secured silver in 5:29.93, with the U.S. finishing in 5:30.09 for bronze.
The Netherlands, after stealing silver at the 2024 Olympic Games, won gold in 5:27.67 after taking an early lead over the first 500m.
With the U.S. bringing home bronze, Herman, Molitor, and Hudgins earned their first medals at a senior international competition. Quinton, an NCAA champion in the varsity eight at Washington in 2021, and Tabash, a University of California, Berkeley rowing team alumnus, added to their international medals following their bronze medal-winning race in men’s eight at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
