US Men's 4- Wins Rep to Earn Place in A Final

The performance of the day for the US men's team was turned in by the 4-, led by Silas Stafford of Stanford. The crew placed themselves firmly in medal contention with a solid performance, holding off a late sprint from the Italian crew immediately to starboard. It's a great sign moving forward and exactly the type of performance needed to set the tone as we draw closer to London. Stafford, Stitt, Rummel and Lanzone also make up the first of the US men's Olympic-class boats to make the the A Final this year -- something that is extremely important for Tim McLaren as he tries to harness the potential of the US club system in preparation for 2012 (as I've discussed).

Tomorrow will feature a very tough race for the Men's LWT 4-, in a heat with Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and France -- all perennial powerhouses in the event. If the US can make it through to the A Final from this semi, they too will have placed themselves in medal contention, having raced some of the most experienced crews on the international circuit.

The VIII and the LWT VIII both had somewhat uninspiring results, though the LWT VIII was an exhibition race, there being so few entries this year, and such meaningless races can sometimes be deceptive. The heavy VIII finished just behind two strong crews from Great Britain and Australia, and will have a real test in the reps to come, with both Canada and a strong New Zealand crew on the program.

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