Aug. 30, 2009
POZNAN, Poland – Four-time All-American and 2008 graduate Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) helped the United State women’s four to the silver medal at the 2009 World Championships in Poznan, Poland.
The crew of Polk, Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.), Eleanor Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) and Jamie Redman (Spokane, Wash.) edged out Canada for the silver medal with a time of 6:36.01.
Polk’s crew was in fourth place at the 500-meter mark, but was able to pull ahead of Belarus by the halfway point and move into third place. A bad stroke at the 1,250-meter mark set the U.S. boat back only momentarily and the quartet quickly recovered. A sprint to the finish line with the Canadians yielded a 0.86 victory for Polk’s crew as Canadian finished in 6:36.87 for the bronze medal.
The Netherlands led the race from the onset and was clocked in a winning time of 6:31.34. Australia finished fourth in 6:37.71, while Germany and Belarus finished in a dead heat for fifth place in 6:43.23.
This is Polk’s second medal with the U.S. National Team. In July 2008, she helped the Under-23 Team capture the women’s eight gold medal at the FISA World Championships in Bradenburg, Germany.