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#ShamrockSisters Qualify For World Championship Semifinals

Molly Bruggeman (‘14) and Ellen Gleadow (‘16) have moved themselves into prime position to qualify their respective boats for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games at the 2019 World Rowing Championships in Linz Ottensheim, Austria. 

Bruggeman and the United States W4- have moved onto the semifinals by finishing second in their heat (6:42.830) and will compete in the semifinals on Thursday, Aug. 29. 

Gleadow, competing in the LW1x for Team Canada, just missed an automatic bid to the semifinals by finishing third (trailing the second-place finisher by less than a second) but came back strong to win her repechage in 7:49.770. Gleadow will race in the semifinals on Thursday as well. 

The 2019 World Championships serve as a qualification site for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. A top-eight finish for the W4-, or a top-nine finish for the LW1x, would assure a spot for that boat in the upcoming Olympic Games (the ultimate line up for the Olympic Games would be determined by each team’s Olympic committees).  

Bruggeman has been a member of the U.S. Senior team since 2016 and recently helped the W4- finish fourth at the 2019 World Rowing Cup I and II. She was also a member of the W4- that finished fourth at the 2017 World Rowing Championships. 

In 2014, Bruggeman helped Notre Dame’s W8+ finish ninth at the NCAA Championship. 

Gleadow has competed in the LW2x in 2019 for Canada (finishing 13th at World Cup II) and jumped to fourth at World Cup III in the LW1x. She also is a veteran of the World Championships, finishing fourth in the LW4x for Canada in 2017. Gleadow also boasts a second-place finish in the LW1x at the 2018 World Cup I.

Follow along with Molly and Ellen’s semifinals at WorldRowing.com.