BELGRADE, Serbia – Several current and former members of the California men's rowing team earned medals at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia and helped their countries qualify boats for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics this past week. The event took place Sept. 3–10 and included what is considered to be the strongest field since the 2020 Olympics.
 
Olav Molenaar '22 capped off a productive summer helping Holland to a silver medal in the men's eight with a finishing time of 05.25.23, barely missing out on the gold as it finished just one second behind Great Britain. He previously finished with a silver medal in the men's four at the European Championships and a bronze medal in the men's eight at the World Rowing Cup III earlier this summer. Holland's men's eight is now qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
 
Teammates Angus Dawson and Jack Robertson '21 both won their opening heat to advance to the A Final, where they earned the bronze medal in the men's eight for Australia by finishing just over a second behind Molenaar's Holland crew in a time of 05:26.65. Dawson and Robertson have been rowing together all summer as they recently won gold in the men's eight and bronze in the men's pair at this year's World Rowing Cup III and World Rowing Cup II, respectively. Australia's men's eight is now qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
 
Rounding out the Golden Bears' medalists was 2023 and 2022 Pac-12 Rower of the Year Ollie Maclean, who helped New Zealand capture the bronze in the men's straight four in a time of 06:08.44. It was a loaded field as his boat had to qualify for the A Final by navigating an opening heat and semifinal round. New Zealand's men's straight four is now qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
 
With a fourth-place finish in the straight four, Niki Van Sprang '16 also helped his country, Holland, qualify for the Paris Olympics. His team was edged out for a podium spot finishing four seconds behind New Zealand.
 
Five other Bears competed in the World Rowing Championships, including:
 
Gennaro di Mauro (Italy) – Seventh, men's eight
Tim Roth (Switzerland) – Eighth, men's straight four
Jack Cleary '18 (Australia) – Fifth B Final, men's quad
Martin Mackovic '18 (Serbia) – Sixth C Final, men's pair
Joachim Sutton '19 (Denmark) – Sixth B Final, men's pair
 
Complete results for all the heats and finals can be found out www.worldrowing.com.
 
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