Pocock’s Mickelson wins World Cup gold

LUCERNE, Switzerland, July 9, 2006 – Anna Mickelson of Seattle’s Pocock Rowing Center and Megan Cooke came from behind to defeat Germany and bring home the gold for the United States on Sunday at the 2006 FISA World Cup stop in Lucerne, Switzerland. The pair was among four U.S. crews – all with Seattle ties -- to medal at the final World Cup competition prior to the World Rowing Championships this August.

Other U.S. medals for athletes with Seattle ties were brought home by former Washington coxswain Mary Whipple and Seattle rower Portia Johnson with a silver in the women’s eight, and former Pocock rower Julie Nichols and partner Renee Hykel with a bronze in the lightweight women’s double sculls. Former Pocock rower J. Sloan DuRoss helped the U.S. men’s quadruple sculls win bronze to round-out the podium trips for the U.S. Pocock’s Lia Pernell helped the U.S. to a fourth place finish in the women’s quad.

Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.) and Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.), who qualified for the final through the repechage or second-chance round after falling to the Netherlands in their Friday heat, overcame an open water advantage by the German crew of Nicole Zimmermann and Elke Hippler in the final 500 meters to clock a 7:12.78 on the 2,000 meter Rotsee course and the 1.62-second victory. The Netherlands won the bronze.

“It (the win) was so awesome,” said Mickelson who along with Cooke finished a disappointing fifth at May’s Munich World Cup stop. “I felt like we totally redeemed ourselves. We sprinted with them (Germany) in Munich and they got the best of us,” said Mickelson who helped the U.S. women’s eight win silver at the 2004 Olympic Games. “It’s really good to accomplish the goal that we set for ourselves.”

Rowing at 35 strokes-per-minute, Mickelson and Cooke took the early advantage, leading after 500 meters. However, Germany grabbed the lead just before the 1,000-meter mark and continued to build its advantage over the next 500 meters. “Germany made a big push in the middle 1,000 meters - I think they expected to be in front of us,” said Mickelson, a graduate of Bellevue’s Newport High School.

With just 500-meters to go, Germany held a 1.74-second advantage on the Americans. However, Mickelson and Cooke used a strong sprint to overtake the Germans, who had finished ahead of them in Munich and won at the Poznan, Poland World Cup stop, to pull away for the victory. “I knew that with 500 meters to go we had a shot to win when I heard our coach yelling from the shore, ‘you’re moving, you’re moving,’” she said. “This gives us a huge boost (going into the World Championships) – knowing that we can hang with the Germans in a good fight and come out on top in the end.”

In the women’s eight, Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), a former Washington coxswain, led her U.S. crew of Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Rachel Jeffers (Los Gatos, Calif.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Nicole Sylvester (New Durham, N.H.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.), and Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) to the silver medal, finishing less than one second behind Romania. The U.S. and Romania waged a tight battle through the midway point of the race, with Romania holding a 0.47-second advantage at the 1,000-meter mark. The Romanians built their advantage to 1.45 seconds during the third quarter of the race before the U.S. made a late charge to cut into the deficit. Romania won the race with a time of 6:12.32, while the U.S. finished in a 6:13.27. Germany won the bronze medal.

In the lightweight women’s double sculls, former Pocock rower Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) clocked a 7:16.63 to edge Ireland for the bronze medal. Nichols and Hykel got off the line in second place and crossed the 1,000-meter mark in third behind Canada and Ireland. Finland, which sat just tenths behind in fourth place, made a strong move during the third quarter of the race to take control of the second position, while Ireland continued to build its lead on the U.S. However, Nichols and Hykel used a strong final 500 meters to turn a 1.60-second deficit to Ireland into a 0.25-second advantage and won the bronze medal. Canada led the race from start to finish, coming home in a 7:11.62. Finland won the silver medal with a time of 7:13.60.

The men’s quadruple sculls quartet of Matt Hughes (Ludington, Mich.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), DuRoss (South Portland, Maine), and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) also won a bronze medal. The crew got off the line in fifth position, where it remained through the 1,000-meter mark. During the third 500, the U.S. overtook Estonia to move into fourth place and then passed a fading Russian crew, which led after 500 meters, in the final quarter of the race. The Czech Republic won with a time of 5:50.81, followed by Germany in a 5:52.17. The U.S. boat clocked a 5:53.31, followed by Russia in a 5:54.11.

In the women’s quad, Pocock’s Pernell along with Ala Piotrowski (Manchester, N.H.), Jen Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.), and Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.) finished just off the medal stand in fourth place, 1.62 seconds from the bronze-medal position. Sitting in fourth at each 500-meter split, the crew made a strong push during the third quarter of the race to pull within 0.75 seconds of third with just 500 meters remaining. However, the third-place Russian crew withstood the challenge and held on to the bronze medal. The U.S. clocked a 6:40.08. Great Britain won the gold medal with a time of 6:31.27, followed by Germany in a 6:35.66. Russia finished in a 6:38.46.

In the women’s single sculls, Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.) clocked a 7:37.83 to finish in fifth place.

About the George Pocock Rowing Foundation
The George Pocock Rowing Foundation is a non-profit organization that serves as a community resource for the support and advancement of the sport of rowing in the Northwest. The Foundation is active in helping develop new rowing programs, providing rowing opportunities for at-risk children and adults, and sponsoring men and women training for the U.S. National Rowing Team.