LUCERNE, Switzerland — Cornell men's lightweight rowing alum Sorin Koszyk '20, along with his men's doubles sculls partner Ben Davison, have earned spots to represent the United States National Team at the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after placing first in the men's double sculls final at the 2024 World Rowing Final Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta on Tuesday morning.

Koszyk is the second former Cornell rower to clinch a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics, joining Cornell men's heavyweight rowing alum Michael Grady '19, who qualified with the United States men's four back in September after placing first in their semifinal at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

On the first day of racing on Sunday, Koszyk and Davison registered a first-place finish with a time of 6:18.46, finishing eight-plus seconds ahead of Greece's Ioannis Kalandaridis and Nikolaos Cholopoulos (6:26.83) in the third of three heats held on Sunday morning.

The next day, Koszyk and Davison improved their time by 1.68 seconds (6:16.78), edging Moldova's Ivan Corsunov and Chirill Visotchi-Sestacov by two-plus seconds (6:19.20).

In the men's double sculls final, Koszyk and Davison used a strong push between the 1000- and 1500-meter marks, jumping ahead of Australian duo David Bartholot and Marcus Della Marta and Serbia's Martin Mackovic and Nikolaj Pimenov to go from third to first place. The American pair clocked their best 500-meter split of the day (1:35.55) to take the lead for good and post its victory of 3.33 seconds over Mackovic and Pimenov.

"The race went as we thought it would," said Davison, Koszyk's crewmate. "We knew the other boats were going to push the pace to the 1k. We just needed to weather the storm in the first half, stay within striking distance, and then go to work. It was great to get the boat qualified today. This is something that has been on the top of our minds since the world championships last summer. I'm ecstatic to be going back to the Olympic Games."

Koszyk's clinching of a spot on the United States National Team makes him the third Cornellian who will represent the U.S. in Paris, joining Grady and former Cornell multi-sport athlete Taylor Knibb '20, who will be on the United States triathlon and cycling teams in Paris. Knibb won her first elite women's trial national title at the USA Cycling Pro Road Championships in Charleston, W.Va., last week and earned her spot with the triathlon team this past September.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will officially begin on July 26 with the Opening Ceremony and rowing events launching the following day.

Along with the men's double sculls, the women's quadruple sculls and men's eight also earned first-place finishes on Tuesday, while the men's single sculls placed second, also solidifying spots in the upcoming Olympic Games. In total, the United States will send 14 total crews to Paris (12 Olympic and two Paralympic), marking the most U.S. boats to qualify for a single Olympics, besting the 12 crews sent to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

2024 PARIS OLYMPICS ROWING SCHEDULE
Events With Cornell Alumni

SATURDAY, JULY 27
11:30 a.m. CET (5:30 a.m. ET) — Men's Double Sculls (Koszyk)

SUNDAY, JULY 28
10:20 a.m. CET (4:20 a.m. ET) — Men's Double Sculls Repechages (Koszyk)
12:50 p.m. CET (6:50 a.m. ET) — Men's Four Heats (Grady)

TUESDAY, JULY 30
11:10 a.m. CET (5:10 a.m. ET) — Men's Double Sculls Semifinal A/B 1 (Koszyk)
11:20 a.m. CET (5:20 a.m. ET) — Men's Double Sculls Semifinal A/B 2 (Koszyk)
11:40 a.m. CET (5:40 a.m. ET) — Men's Four Repechages (Grady)

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1
11:06 a.m. CET (5:06 a.m. ET) — Men's Four Final B (Grady)
11:30 a.m. CET (5:30 a.m. ET) — Men's Double Sculls Final A (Koszyk)
12:10 p.m. CET (6:10 a.m. ET) — Men's Four Final A (Grady)