The Cal women's rowing program brought home three medals – including two golds – at the recently completed Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

That's the most medals – and golds – the program has secured in a single Olympics in history.

"I'm just really happy for the kids that earned the medals," Cal head coach Al Acosta said. "It was fun to watch the racing and feel like there was a little bit of our team invested in all of those races."

The gold medals went to 2019 graduate Sydney Payne, who helped Canada win the women's eight, and 2014 alum Rosemary Popa, who guided the Australian women's four to the championship.

Meanwhile, Caileigh Filmer, who rowed at Cal in 2014-15, won the bronze medal in the women's pair for Canada.

"You have to feel like Cal women's rowing helped them get to where they are to a certain degree, so it feels like we have a little skin in the game," Acosta said.

Payne and her Canadian crew won in a mild upset, dethroning three-time Olympic gold medalist USA in the event. Canada led from the outset in the finals and held off a late charge from New Zealand.

"Sydney is a little bit of a celebrity in Canada right now," Acosta said. "It's fun to watch."

Popa and her Australian crew won their heat to advance straight to the A-final, where they led throughout, ultimately holding off a late charge by The Netherlands by less than a half a second.

"Rosie is an awesome teammate and a great kid," Acosta said. "We had her on one of our Zooms during COVID – she is one of the more inspirational alums that we've had speak to our current crew. It was amazing to see."

Australia's four was one of three crews in that event that featured Cal alums. Rowan McKellar, a 2017 alum, led Great Britain to a fourth-place finish. Kendall Chase, a 2016 graduate, helped Team USA win the B-final.

Kara Kohler, a 2014 alum, finished ninth overall in the single sculls for the United States after placing third in the B-final. Jacinta Edmunds of Australia, a 2017 graduate, made the trip to Tokyo as a reserve but didn't compete.

"I'm really proud of what all of our Olympians accomplished," Acosta said. "It's certainly the hardest physical task all of them have gone through, and leading up to Tokyo was probably the hardest mental task they have gone through. I'm really proud of all of them."