Plihal wraps summer at Shanghai Sprints

Mixed 8+ on the Suzhou Creek. US and Jacob in the boat on the left. Photo courtesy of USRowing.

Green Racing Project’s (GRP) Jacob Plihal capped his summer by racing the men’s double sculls and the mixed eight at the inaugural World Rowing Shanghai Sprints, held September 26–27 on Shanghai’s Suzhou Creek. The new made-for-TV event brought together eight teams - the Netherlands, Great Britain, China, Romania, Ireland, the United States, Germany, and a composite World Team drawing on athletes from countries that didn’t field a full squad - for head-to-head 500-meter knockout racing, a departure from rowing’s usual 2,000-meter format.

Jacob in bow of the M2x. Photo courtesy of USRowing.

Men’s Double Sculls

Jacob teamed with Cedar Cunningham in the men’s double, advancing through the knockout rounds to the semifinal before running into the World Team’s Martin Mackovic and Nikolaj Pimenov. The Serbian duo proved unbeatable all weekend. They went on to win the double sculls title and, a day later, the mixed doubles as well, with Pimenov’s second gold powering the World Team to the meet’s overall trophy.

The US mixed 8+ after racing. Photo courtesy of USRowing.

Mixed Eight

Plihal also rowed in the U.S. mixed eight, alongside Isabela Darvin, Grace Joyce, Teal Cohen, Cedar Cunningham, Christopher Carlson, Samuel Sullivan, stroke Kaitlin Knifton, and coxswain Cristina Castagna. The boat was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Germany went on to edge the World Team by roughly half a length in the final for the event’s first-ever mixed eights title, with the Netherlands taking bronze.

Full results and video from Shanghai are posted at worldrowing.com.