July 11, 2010
LUCERNE, Switzerland – In one of the closest races of the day, former Notre Dame rower Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) helped the United States women’s eight boat claim the top spot on the podium and her second international gold medal on Sunday at the 2010 International Rowing Federation (FISA) Rowing World Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland. Her U.S. team crossed the line in 6:12.19, only two tenths of a second ahead of the Canadians.
The current world champions in the event, the U.S., came out of the gates slowly and found themselves in third behind both Canada and Great Britain after the first split with a time of 1:32.44. Through the next 500 meters the Americans stayed steady posting a time of 1:34.29, holding them in the third position before they started to chase down the leaders over the last half of the race. After cutting the lead down to just over a second going into the final 500 meters the U.S. turned it on and rowed a scorching 1:30.83 final split to cross the line in first just ahead of the Canadians.
With the help of the women’s eight boat victory, the U.S. rowing squad was able to secure a fifth-place showing in the third and final World Cup event. The overall 2010 FISA Rowing World Cup standings look very similar with the U.S. also taking home fifth with 64 points behind Great Britain (231), Germany (109), New Zealand (85) and China (82), who sit in first through fourth, respectively.
2010 FISA Rowing World Cup III (Lucerne, Switzerland):1. Great Britain 77 points2. New Zealand 42 points3. Germany 37 points4. Australia 31 points5. United States 28 points6. Canada 25 points7. Czech Republic 20 points8 (tie). Italy 13 points8 (tie). France 13 points10. China 11 points
2010 FISA Rowing World Cup Final Standings:1. Great Britain 231 points2. Germany 109 points3. New Zealand 85 points4. China 82 points5. United States 64 points6. Czech Republic 61 points7. Australia 53 points8. Canada 52 points9. Italy 40 points10. Poland 31 points
–ND–