POZNAN, Poland – Three Cornell rowers – Andrew Diebold '06, Matt Kochem '08, and Kerry Quinn '10 – won silver medals this weekend as they represented the United States as members of men's lightweight-8 boat at the World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

After winning its heat to advance directly to the final, the U.S. boat was in fourth place at the 1,000-meter mark before making its move. Over the third 500 meters, the U.S. passed Japan and The Netherlands to move into the second-place position before sprinting home for silver in a 5:37.15. Italy led the race from wire-to-wire, winning gold in a 5:33.92, with The Netherlands in a 5:39.69 for the bronze medal.

“It was a tough race down the whole course, and the guys did a great job of staying composed through a lot of challenging water,” said Quinn, who served as the boat's coxswain. “There was a brutal tail wind on the course, with a lot of chop in the second half of the race.”