ITHACA, N.Y. -- Former Cornell men's heavyweight rower Michael Grady '19 and his men's fours boat took fifth in the A final at the 2020 Olympic finals on Wednesday morning at Sea Forest Waterway. Additionally, Tracy Eisser '12 will row in the B final on Thursday morning.

In the men's four, Australia took the early lead and continued to build a boat-length advantage in the first 1,000 meters, with Great Britain and Romania battling it out for second and third. The U.S., Italy and The Netherlands sat just off the medal pace in a virtual dead heat for fourth as the crews entered the back half of the race. Over the final 500 meters, Romania and Italy made a strong charge on Australia in an effort to win gold, but the Aussie crew was able to hold on for the victory. Australia won the race in a 5:42.76, with Romania finishing 0.37 seconds behind in a 5:43.13. Italy took the bronze medal. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:48.85, wrapping up Grady's first Olympics experience.
 
Rowing with partner Megan Kalmoe in the semifinals, Eisser will now race for spots 7-12. Kalmoe and Eisser sat in fourth position through the 1,000-meter mark, still within contact of a qualification spot. However, the U.S. duo was unable to chase down the leading crews over the back half of the race. New Zealand, the defending world champions, won with a time of 6:47.41. Russia finished second, followed by a hard-charging Spain. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:02.52. Kalmoe and Eisser will race against crews from Australia, Romania, Ireland, Italy, and Denmark in the B final.
 
Portions of the story courtesy of US Rowing