Head of the Charles Shines in Autumn Sun
The Head of the Charles regatta celebrated its 60th year, attracting almost 12,000 competitors and up to 400,000 spectators to Boston for what has become the rowing community’s fall festival. Classic autumnal weather highlighted three days of racing that attracted an even bigger—up 20 percent—international entry, bucking current tourism trends in the U.S.
A USRowing crew composed of six from the fifth-place worlds eight and three from the world champion four the won the women’s championship eight, more than 20 seconds ahead of British crews Molesey (second) and Oxford University (third). Two Yale crews finished a close fourth and fifth.
The men’s championship eights featured much closer racing, with Cambridge University just edging the University of Washington by 1.5 seconds, with Harvard University a close third, less than a second behind Washington.
The women’s championship single event drew a more impressive field then the recent World Rowing Championships, including reigning Olympic champion Karolien Florjin; current world champions in the singles, lightweight Michelle Sechser (second) and openweight Fiona Murtagh (sixth); and multiple national teamers in other events.
New Zealand’s Finn Hamill returned to successfully defend his title in the men’s single, outracing Croatian Olympic champion in the pair, Martin Sinkovic (second), and New York Athletic Club’s Sam Melvin (third) by 12 and 13 seconds, respectively.
Princeton University won the MacMahon Cup for team points, with Dartmouth College second, and Harvard University third.
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