Coug Rowers Have a Strong Showing at U-23 World Championships

RACICE, Czech Republic – Washington State rowers Kateryna Maistrenko and Ilaria Macchi shinned for their home countries this past week at the 2021 U-23 World Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.

Maistrenko rowed for her native Ukraine in the women's coxed four, while Macchi competed for Slovenia in the women's single sculls. It was the second time that Maistrenko represented her home country at the World Championships, as she rowed for Ukraine at the 2017 Junior World Championships. It was Macchi's first time racing for her homeland on the World Championship stage, after she missed the Junior World Championships due to an injury.

Maistrenko helped the Ukrainians finish sixth in both the coxed four preliminaries and finals at the U-23 World Championships. Ukraine timed in at 7:36.76 in the preliminary race to get the week started. Maistrenko later helped Ukraine shave over four seconds off its prelim time in the finals, with the Ukrainian boat clocking in at 7:32.49.

Macchi took 17th overall in the women's single sculls for Slovenia at the U-23 World Rowing Championships. The Slovenian rower began her week in the Czech Republic with a fourth-place finish in her heat of the women's single sculls, clocking in at 8:16.57. Macchi shaved an impressive 21 seconds off her time in the repechage heat, rowing down the course in 7:55.81 to advance to the C/D semifinals. The soon-to-be sophomore for the WSU rowing team would be even faster in the semifinal race, as she won her heat with a time of 7:49.92 to advance to the women's single sculls C finals. Macchi would end her first World Championship event with a fifth-place finish in the C final, clocking in at 8:02.01, to place 17th overall in the event.

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