Cal at the Olympics: Ollie Maclean Wins Rowing Silver for New Zealand

Kara Kohler, in her third Olympics, advances to the finals in the women's single sculls

Kara Kohler reacts after qualifying for the single sculls final / Sarah Phipps-USA TODAY Sports

A big day for 12 Cal rowers at the Paris Olympics.

Ollie Maclean and his New Zealand teammates won a silver medal in the men’s four on Thursday and Kara Kohler qualified for the final in the women’s single sculls event.

Maclean and New Zealand finished 0.85 seconds behind USA, which won its first gold medal in the men’s four since 1960. The Americans crossed in 5:49.03, with New Zealand coming in at 5:49.88. 

Maclean was a member of the Cal varsity eight that won the IRA national championship in 2022 and ’23 and he was Pac-12 rowing’s athlete of the year as a graduate student in ’23. He helped New Zealand win a bronze at the 2023 World Championships.

Australia, featuring 2021 Cal grad Jack Robertson, finished sixth in Final A while current Cal student Tim Roth and his Swiss teammates were third in Final B.

Rowing

Kara Kohler, USA: Twelve years after making her Olympic debut, the 33-year-old Cal grad qualified the finals of the single sculls for the first time after finishing third in her semifinal. Kohler will compete Saturday for a spot on the medal stand.

She was third behind New Zealand’s Emma Twigg, a five-time Olympian and the defending single sculls champion, who crossed the finish line in 7:17.19, and Lithuania’s Viktorija Senkute (7:19.15). Kohler was timed in 7:22.33.

Kohler won a bronze medal in the quadruple sculls at the 2012 Olympics, then stepped away from the sport after failing to earn a spot at the 2016 Games. The 2014 Cal graduate switched to single sculls in time to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she finished ninth.

Caileigh Filmer and Sydney Payne, Canada: The two Cal grads helped Canada to a second-place finish in their women’s eight repechage, earning them a spot in Saturday’s Final A. The Canadians were clocked in 6:04.81, finishing less than a second behind race winner USA wit the top four boats advancing to the final.

Filmer, 27, is competing in her third Olympics, having finished eighth in the women’s eight in 2016 before earning a bronze medal in women’s pairs at Tokyo. Payne, who graduated in 2019, won a gold medal in the women’s eight at Tokyo.

Olav Molenaar, Netherlands: A first-time Olympian and 2022 Cal grad, Molenaar and the Dutch men’s eight boat won their repechage race in 5:27.58 to advance to Saturday’s Final A. Netherland won gold in the event each of the past two events.

Frederik Breuer, Germany: Breuer, who helped Cal’s varsity eight boat win the 2022 and ’23 IRA nationals, advanced to Saturday’s Final A in the men’s eight after finishing second behind the Netherland in their repechage race. They crossed the finish line in 5:29.17. 

Angus Dawson, Australia: Dawson and the Aussies give the Bears a third representative in the men’s eight Final A after finishing fourth in the repechage in 5:31.50. Dawson, who recently completed his college eligibility, was part of Cal’s varsity eight boats that won IRA national titles in 2022 and ’23. Dawson and the Aussies were sixth in the event at Tokyo.

Gennaro diMauro, Italy: Needing a top-four finish in the men’s eight repechage, diMauro and Italy were eliminated after crossing fifth in 5:36.31.  This was the second Olympics for di Mauro, who stands 6-foot-10 and was a member of Cal’s varsity eight team that won national titles in 2022 and ’23.

Inger Kavlie, Norway: Kavlie and teammate Thea Helseth finished sixth in the women’s double sculls Final A race in 6:58.41. New Zealand won gold in the event. A first-time Olympian, Kavlie rowed in the Cal women’s varsity eight boat that won the 2016 NCAA title. 

Martin Mackovic, Serbia: Mackovic and teammate Nikolaj Pimenov won the Final B in in the men’s double sculls with a time of 6:13.85, beating runner-up France. Romania won Final A and the gold medal. Mackovic rowed at Cal from 2016 to 2018 and helped the Bears win the 2016 national championship.

Golf

Collin Morikawa lines up a putt / Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Collin Morikawa, USA: The two-time major champion sits in a 13-way tie for 29th place in the 60-player field after shooting a first-round score of 1-under 70. Morikawa, 27 and ranked sixth in the world, had a bogey on No. 6 before posting birdies on Nos. 13 and 14. 

He is seven strokes back of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who put together a bogey-free round of 8-under 63. Xander Schauffele is two strokes back.

Byeong Hun An, South Korea: The one-time Golden Bear birdied the first three holes of the day but could not maintain that momentum. The 32-year-old, who is ranked 32nd globally, had bogeys on Nos. 4, 12, 13 and 18 and wound up with a 1-over 72 and in 48th place.

Men’s water polo

Luca Cupido looks for a shot against Greece / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Greece 13, USA 11: Cal great Nikolaos Papanikolaou scored once and Greece remained undefeated in three group play matches after beating the USA. 

Nikolaos Papanikolaou, a three-time winner of the Peter J. Cutino Award, led the Bears to NCAA titles in 2021, ’22 and ’23. This is his first Olympics.

He played 17 minutes, 22 seconds and scored in the second period to give Greece a 4-2 lead. Cal alum Luca Cupido scored with 4:14 left in the fourth quarter pull the Americans within 12-10.

But Kannakakis Argyropoulos capped a four-goal performance by scoring with 3:58 left to push Greece’s lead to 13-10.

Cal grad Johnny Hooper, who scored three goals in the Americans’ first two games, was scoreless in this one. Adrian Weinberg, Cal’s goalkeeper for its three recent NCAA championship teams, made just eight saves on 20 shot attempts before being removed from the game late in the third period.

The Americans, 1-2, face a critical match Saturday against Montenegro in their quest to finish among the top four in their group and advance to the quarterfinals. Montenegro is winless in three matches but challenged Italy before losing 11-9 in a penalty shootout on Wednesday.

Women’s field hockey

Megan Valzonis, USA: Great Britain outscored the Americans 2-0 in the second half to pull away for a 5-2 victory in group play. Valzonis, Cal’s leading scorer in 2017, ’18 and ’19, was scoreless for the Americans.

The win clinched a spot in the knockout round for Britain, which is 2-2. The Americans, who are 0-3-1 and have been outscored 13-4, will not advance. The USA plays its final match Saturday against South Africa.