Relive the Pan American Games

Click on the links below for videos of OKC athletes competing at the Pan American Games in Mexico:

Women's Pair Final (George/Smith)

Men's Eight Final (Gennaro/Otto/Didier/Johnson)

Women's Quad Final (Smith/Sechser)

Lightweight Women's Double Final (Sechser/Smith)

Men's Pair Final (Gennaro/Otto)

Lightweight Men's Double Final (Paradiso/Duff)

Men's Quad Final (Paradiso/Duff)

OKC Athletes Compete at the 47th Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston

Athletes representing USRowing Training Center - Oklahoma City traveled to Boston this weekend to compete in the 47th running of the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA.

OKC's Austin Meyer joined forces with Harvard University teammate, Andrew Campbell, in the Championship Men's Double. The crew finished second in a time of 16:42.9 behind first place Peter and Tom Graves in 16:26.8. The Graves brothers represented the United States in the Men's Double at the 2011 World Rowing Championships.

Next up for OKC was Tom Paradiso in the Championship Men's Single. Paradiso, fresh off racing at the Pan American Games, finished 4th in a time of 18:36.7. Deaglan McEachern finished in 12th place in a time of 19:15.4 ahead of Max Goff in 14th place (19:18.2).

OKC's Hilary Cumbest finished 14th in the Championship Women's Single in a time of  21:24.9.

Tony Davis and Jacqui Kapinowski won the Mixed Trunk and Arms Double in a time of  24:32.5. Davis and Kapinowski competed in the TA Double at the 2011 World Rowing Championships.

Nicole Dinion, racing in the Lightweight Women's Single event, finished 10th in a time of 21:16.5.

USRowing Training Center - OKC finished 5th in the Championship Men's Four in a time of 16:32.3 and 2nd in the Championship Men's Eight in a time of 14:23.3.

In the Lightweight Men's Eight, OKC's entry posted an impressive 14:27.7 giving them first place over second place Harvard University (14:41.8).

Tulsa Alum Michelle Sechser Grabs Hardware at Pan Am Games

Link to Tulsa Sport's coverage of OKC's Michelle Sechser at the Pam Am Games:

http://www.tulsahurricane.com/sports/w-rowing/spec-rel/101911aaa.html

Former Drake rower Chelsea Smith wins two bronze medals at Pan American Games

Check out the link below for an article about OKC's Chelsea Smith:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111020/SPORTS0204/111020019/0/SPORTS0204/?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Chelsea Smith and Michelle Sechser

OKC High Performance Athletes Return Home With 5 Medals from the XVI Pan Am Games

With the completion of the rowing events at the XVI Pan American Games, United States crews finished with eight total medals including four gold, two silver and two bronze. Oklahoma City High Performance Center athletes won five of the eight medals awarded to Team USA. Cuba won nine total medals (three gold), with Argentina (five gold) and Canada (no gold) also finishing with eight medals.


The U.S. men’s eight of coxswain Marcus McElhenney, Michael Gennaro, Matt Wheeler, Blaise Didier, Steve Kasprzyk, Joe Spencer, Ty Otto, Jason Read and Derek Johnson capped off the regatta with a wire-to-wire victory on Wednesday.

The crew took command off the start, building more than a one-second advantage during the first 500 meters of the race and increasing that lead to more than three seconds over Mexico at the midway point. Despite a late charge by Canada, the U.S. cruised to a 1.69-second victory. Canada won the silver medal, followed by Argentina.

“We just came out of the blocks faster than we’ve ever done,” said McElhenney. “The whole goal was to take the race; no one was going to give it to us. We took it from the very first stroke, and we just kept running with it. My hat’s off to these guys.”

With the victory in men’s eight race, Oklahoma City's Otto and Gennaro become double gold medalists at the XVI Pan American Games. The duo also won a gold medal in the men’s pair.

Michelle Sechser, Chelsea Smith, Catherine Reddick and Megan Walsh brought home a bronze medal in the women’s quadruple sculls.

The crew sat in fourth place behind Cuba, out of the medals, going into the final 500 meters but recorded the fastest final quarter of the race to win bronze with a time of 6:39.36. Argentina won gold in a 6:34.46, followed by Canada.

“It feels great,” said Sechser. “It was a tough race again in the quad, coming back from behind, sitting in fifth or sixth place in the second 500. We knew as a crew that we were going to grind in the middle of that base and came together as a boat. We had only practiced twice and gave it everything we had.”

With today’s medal, all four women became double medalists at the XVI Pan American Games. Oklahoma City's Sechser and Smith won bronze in the lightweight women’s double sculls, while Reddick and Walsh won silver in the women’s double sculls.

Representing Oklahoma City at the XVI Pan American Games

Left to Right: Derek Johnson (M8+), Megan Smith (W2-), Blaise Didier (M8+), Meg George (W2-), Michelle Sechser (LW2x, W4x), Michael Gennaro (M2-, M8+), Robert Duff (LM2x, M4x), Ty Otto (M2-, M8+), Tom Paradiso (LM2x, M4x),  Chelsea Smith (LW2x, W4x), Jeremy Ivey (Coach)