Cal at the Olympics: Rosemary Popa Wins Gold in Rowing
Rower Rosemary Popa was the only former Cal athlete to pick up a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday (Wednesday in Japan).
Popa and her Australian teammates held on for split-second win over The Netherlands in the women's four final.
The Aussies held a sizable lead early in the race, but The Netherlands made a charge at the end. Australia hit the finish line just ahead of the Dutch in a time of 16:15.71, just 0.34 of a second ahead of The Netherlands.
Popa was born in Melbourne, Australia, and her mother won bronze in the 1984 Olympic Games in the four and her father took bronze in the eight at the '84 Games.
Another Golden Bear, Rowan McKellar, was a member of the Great Britain boat that finished fourth in that women's four race, just 1.06 seconds behind third-place Ireland.
--Ex-Cal rower Jack Cleary was a member of the Australian quadruple scull that finished third in the final to pick up the bronze medal. The Aussies finished just 0.22 of a second behind second-place Great Britain. The Netherlands picked up the gold.
--Coxswain Julian Vernonsky of the U.S. men's eight and Angus Dawson of the Australian men's eight both advanced to the final A after finishing in the top four of a repechage. The Americans finished third and the Aussies were fourth.
.--Former Cal rower Kendall Chase was a member of the USA boat that won the women's four final B. That means the USA foursome finishes seventh overall. The final A, where the medals will be won, takes place later.
--Joachim Sutton of Denmark and Niki Van Sprang of The Netherlands competed in men's pairs semifinals, but both former Golden Bears were unable to reach the Final A. Denmark placed sixth in its heat and The Netherlands was fourth in its heat, but only the top three finishers advanced to the final A, which is where the medals are won.
Seliskar hoped to win a swimming medal without getting wet
The United States had won the men's 4x200 freestyle relay in each of the past four Olympics, and the Americans had an early lead in this year's final of that event. But the U.S. foursome faltered in the final two legs and finished fourth, barely missing a medal.
Former Cal swimmer Andrew Seliskar was not one of the four American swimmers in the final, but he did swim for the U.S. n the preliminary heat. Swimming a preliminary heat would have been enough to earn Seliskar a medal if the United States had finished in the top three in the final.
---Alicia Wilson of Great Britain, who will be a senior at Cal in the fall, reached the final of the 200 individual medley, but finished eighth in that event, 4.3 seconds behind winner Yui Ohashi of Japan. Americans Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass finished second and third, respectively.
Danny Barrett helps USA win rugby sevens match
Former Cal standout Danny Barrett was a starter on the United States team that defeated Canada 21-14 on a late try in a fifth-place game in rugby sevens.
--Ex-Golden Bear Andre Jin Coquillard scored nine points on one try and two conversions for South Korea, but his team lost to Japan 31-19, leaving South Korea in 12th place in the final rugby sevens standings.
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Cover photo of Rosemary Popa courtesy of Cal athletics
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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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