In sport, we are quick to anoint greatness upon each other. A performance that impresses us is often bestowed the virtue of greatness before it can even truly be understood. It is easy to attach brilliance onto bravery and boldness but sometimes the two should not be conflated. True greatness should combine mastery, magnanimity and more than a hint of magic.
The Olympic Games is our ultimate magic show. A procession of truly elite talent, operating at the pinnacle of their sport and thrust forward into a limelight fostered by four years of relative translucency. These two weeks are stitched into the very fabric of competition, dating back to the lore of Ancient Greece, and have transcended the politics of modern society to become the ultimate marker in sporting excellence. To win Olympic Gold gives you immortality of a rare and timeless specification – your story will be perpetuated forevermore, carried forward by the whispers of generations to come, who too aim to climb those sacred steps and join this club of champions. Emerging over the horizon, this time in the blue and red hue of palatial Paris, we are ready for the very fastest in rowing to be crowned.
Step forward, my friends – The Olympic Games have come.
The Stats
Country
United States of America
Crew Names
Henry Hollingsworth
Nicholas Rusher
Chris Tabash
Clark Dean
Chris Carlso
Peter Chatain
Evan Olsen
Pieter Quinton
Rielly Milne (c)
Average Age
26 years
Olympic Record
Fifth in the M4- at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Dean)
2024 Competitive Record
World Rowing Cup 1: N/A
World Rowing Cup 2: 2nd (M8+)
World Rowing Cup 3: N/A
European Championships: N/A
Final Olympic Qualification Regatta: 1st (M8+)
The Profile
The USA were the crew that finished in the worst possible place at the 2023 world championships – sixth with only the top five qualifying for the Olympics. They put that right with victory at the FOQR in Lucerne, maintaining their record as the only nation to have competed in the men’s eight at every Olympic Games bar the boycotted Moscow Games in 1980 (although they’ve not won a medal since Beijing). They’ve made a few changes to their line-up from last year; U23 bronze medallist Christian Tabash joined the crew, as did Nicholas Rusher from the fourth-placed eight from 2022. The third new member of the crew this season was Evan Olson, who finished fifth in the pair last year. Finally, Reilly Milne replaces James Catalano in the coxes seat. They join the returners from 2023, Henry Hollingsworth, Clark Dean, Chris Carlson, Peter Chatain and Pieter Quinton. The Americans dominated the field at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta and, buoyed by that result, defeated the British in the preliminary race at the second World Rowing Cup, only to have the British reverse the result when it mattered. The Americans will have been encouraged by how close they came to the British, but that enthusiasm will need to be tempered by the fact the US had peaked for the FOQR earlier in the week and the British were in the middle of a big training block. I think the Americans will be fighting for a medal, but I think the fight is likely to be with a very strong Netherlands crew to take the bronze.
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