Welcome to the Head of the Charles on Saturday, probably one of the longest days of the rowing year, with 34 events running from 7:45am to 4pm (like clockwork, we might add), with the awards well past 6pm o’clock – that’s it one day.

Club and Masters singles

Given the abundance of scullers on the Charles (a river with a high level of difficulty), it is almost surprising that only one of the four individual events that opened on Saturday went to a local – Alex Twist, a former national team athlete and long-time sculler on the Charles , finally won his first gold medal on his home turf by winning the Men’s Masters Singles.

“I’m very proud of it and it was something I really wanted to do this year,” Twist said. “I have been involved in lightweight individual sport for so many years and this year I realized that the cheat code is to become a Masters rower. Move from the Championship events to the Masters events and finish that high performance career. “Next year I will be 40, so in the Senior Masters category, and I think that might need a new winner!”

Shannon Kaplan continued her winning streak in the Women’s Masters event in style, beating two former Olympians for the win, Aisha Chow of Trinidad and Tobago and Aisyah Rafaee of Singapore.

The club singles were won by George Lawton of Great Britain’s Northwich Rowing Club with a strong sculling from bow No. 18, while the women’s club singles were won by Simone Vorperian of the Green Racing Project.

Masters fours and eights

With a total of twelve Masters Fours and Eights competitions today, the river truly was a playground for all ages. And while some crews were prepared to the max, others were, well… let’s just say, just happy to be here.

At the top end of the Masters competition, however, no one gets any favors, and in the six eight-man events all the teams that started with bow No. 1 were rowed down, including the Harvard-loaded ex-Nemo crew, which finished in the 50+ This was caught by a Wild Marin crew that started right behind them.

“You know, they really raised the bar at this event,” Tom Loughlin of Marin said of the ex-Nemo boat. “I really appreciate how they showed up and made it a great race. You can give it your all and you have to do your best to win medals.

Canada – GB All Stars in the Women’s 50+ Masters Eight

In the Women’s 50+ Eight, an all-star crew of former Canadian and British Olympians came from deep in the field on Bow 29 to take the win.

“Last year we both raced in the coxed four and we came one and two and the Canadians beat us,” said five-time British Olympian Cath Grainger. “Then they said, ‘How would you imagine teaming up for an eight-man this year?’ And we said, “Absolutely. It reminds you what rowing is all about, it means there is a great respect between everyone, there is a great love for the sport and there is still an incredible ambition for what we could potentially do together.”

Likewise, there was plenty of history for the Upper Yarra team from Australia, taking first place in the 60+ Masters Eight, with ex-Olympian Peter Antonie in the stroke seat.

“This is an iconic event,” said Antonie after the race. “It’s all about friends coming and wanting to do this. We come together for camaraderie, friendship and rowing, but we want to win. We’re very happy to get rid of our friends from Marin today because they’re great guys and they’re damn hard to beat. They won the 50 division here and will probably get us next year!”

Masters doubles

Cambridge doctoral students Jenna Armstrong and Carina Graf won the women’s masters doubles (“Look, they’re athletes AND scientists!” said award presenter Mary Mazzio during the medal presentation).

Cambridge Masters Women’s Doubles

“We are still full-time students at Cambridge, so we train on the Ely in Cambridge, which is a straight line!” said Graf. “It’s my first time here and I completely understand why everyone is so excited. It’s such a great community.”

In the men’s event, Maritime’s Nate Kelly and Jake Watkins took full advantage of their start on the first turn and used the final turn to fend off an attack from Peter and Tom Graves and secure the win.

Alumni foursomes and eights

A popular question-and-answer session on the banks of the Charles River today was: “How many Olympians are rowing in the Alumni Eights this year?” “All of them!” As announced, many of the regatta’s heavyweights were represented in the Alumni Eights, with the Washington men (seven Olympians) and Stanford women (three Olympians) received top honors today.

“It was actually really special because a lot of the guys are my classmates and roommates and stuff like that,” Washington coxswain Reilly Milne said. “But when Simon (van Dorp – Dutch M1x) walks around now, he’s constantly asked for photos and people say: ‘That’s just my teammate and we just argue.’ And he’s as friendly as ever, so it’s really special to see him.”

Stanford Women’s Alumni Eight

For Stanford U.S. Olympian Emily Delleman, who competed in the U.S. women’s quad in Paris, it was (among other things) regaining college team spirit.

“Honestly, I don’t love steering the course single-handedly, so I was very happy to have a helmsman, especially a great helmsman like Leigh (Warner),” she said after the race.

“We were joking around in our boat, a lot of us were class of 2019 or 2020, some even older, so we thought, ‘That’s our class. Let’s go with a bang.’ Many of these Texas girls were 2022 graduates, so their time will come. This is our last alumni race before we pass it on to the little kids.

The men’s Alumni Fours were won by Crabtree Rowing Club (Cambridge University alums), while the women’s event was won by Penn.

Club fours and eights

Club events at the Head of the Charles are truly “rowing for all”, with both college and club teams providing variety.

Dartmouth Men’s Club Eight

Dartmouth took the win in the men’s Club Eight, but Riverside finished a respectable second in what was perhaps the most competitive men’s eight event at the Charles outside of the Champ Eight.

Riverside Seven Seat Hamilton Eng, who learned to row in high school, rowed all four years at MIT and now continues to hold a rowing spot at Riverside, reflected on how rowing can be a through line in life.

Riverside Men’s Club Eight

“What stands out to me is the team camaraderie,” Eng said. “You’re always part of what feels like a second family, and that’s always great. What changes is that over time you just learn more about yourself, either your limitations or just what you can do, every year and you just keep growing.”

Yale led an impressive group of collegiate teams to victory in the Women’s Club Eights, with Riverside finishing as the top club team.

Dartmouth also won the men’s Club Fours, while Kansas took victory in the women’s event.

There were many Olympians (i.e. those who did not compete in the Alumni Eights) in the Champ Singles and Doubles competitions – you can find our detailed articles on the winners of the Champ Singles and Champ Doubles competitions here.

The lightweight doubles were held in the same competition as the champion doubles, and there was no indication that the removal of the lightweight events from the Olympics had dampened the enthusiasm of the lightweight rowers here in Boston.

Riverside Light Double by Younis and Mannion

“We work really hard,” said Riverside Amel Younis, who won her third lightweight doubles title with partner John Mannion. “I think John and I have earned each other’s respect. After the first race we were friends when we started and after the race we became brothers. I think we just have this trust and this bond that allows us to give it absolutely everything every time the Charles comes over.

The combination of Aislinn O’Brien and Claire Friedlander from Whitemarsh Boat Club won the women’s lightweight double, beating the Canadian Olympic team of Jenny Casson and Jill Moffatt.

Para and inclusion events

Saturday’s race concluded with three para-events, giving U.S. Paralympics athletes who trained in Boston in the year leading up to this summer’s Paralympics a chance to showcase their skills on their home waters. The team won the Para Fours race, earning a victory over a British team made up of their winning line-ups in Paris and Tokyo.

USA Para Four

“Honestly I would just say it’s an honor we hoped we could achieve and it’s very special to do this with your best friends,” said helmsman Emelie Eldracher after the race. “You just do your best and we are so grateful that it worked out this way today.”

U.S. Paralympian Todd Vogt, competing with Carey Connell, his local training partner from his home in Portland, Oregon, and starting bow No. 1, won the 22-boat Para Inclusion Double race. After the race, Vogt also presented his award for U.S. Rowing Male Para-Athlete of the Year and reflected on his experiences over the past year.

“That was a crazy race!” said Vogt. “Unity Boat Club, No. 3, passed Bow No. 2 and we could see that they were clearly catching up to us. I remember thinking, ‘Let’s hold them off as long as possible.’ Carrie, my partner, steered really well and we secured a second win. So that’s pretty dramatic.”

Carey Connell and Todd Vogt, USA Male Para-Athlete of the Year