Gold medalists Lisa Roman, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Christine Roper, Andrea Proske, Susanne Grainger, Madison Mailey, Sydney Payne, Avalon Wasteneys and Kristen Kit of Canada celebrate after competing in the women's rowing eight final lat the 2020 Summer Olympics, on July 30, 2021, in Tokyo.Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press
Canadian women claimed bronze in the women’s eight Sunday at the world rowing championship.
Canada clocked a time of six minutes, 7.59 seconds behind winner Romania in 6:01.14 and runner-up the Netherlands in 6:05.04.
“We wanted to have a race that we would have no regrets and could be proud of every stroke and I think we did that,” said Sydney Payne, who was a member of the eight women that won Olympic gold last summer in Tokyo.
Payne, Avalon Waseneys and coxswain Kristen Kit have earned three medals in the eight over the last year encompassing Olympic gold, World Cup silver and world championship bronze.
The world championship regatta also marked Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski’s return to international competition following Tokyo.
Morgan Rosts, Jessica Sevick, Gabrielle Smith, Kirsten Edwards and Alexis Cronk rounded out Canada’s crew.
“We didn’t feel any pressure (as Olympic champions) as it is always a new story,” Kit said. “We just started this new story today in lead up to Paris 2024. For us, this is brand new.”
The women’s eight earned Canada’s lone medal of the world championship. The men’s eight finished fifth.