Finding reps through repechage, Canadian rowers eye Paris podiums despite smaller team

Three years after naming the largest Canadian Olympic rowing team in 25 years with 29 athletes at Tokyo 2020, just 11 rowers represent Team Canada at the Paris 2024 Games.

That's no bother to Jill Moffat, 31, and Jennifer Carson, 28, the lone Canadian boat in the women's double lightweight sculls and one of Canada's two boats alongside the women's eight.

After finishing 12th at Tokyo 2020, the duo turned to coach Jeremy Ivey, of St. John's, N.L., and now find themselves in Thursday's semifinal despite challenges along the way. They missed automatic qualification in their opening heats on Sunday and were forced to qualify through Monday's repechage round.

"It's the Olympic Games, and we don't treat this like it's just another race," Moffat said after the opening heats. "We have a lot of confidence overall with all of the work we've done at our training camps in the lead-up to Paris."

In the repechage, they rowed the distance in seven minutes, 16.81 seconds, finishing second behind Ireland's Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen.

Casson and Moffat clinched their spot in the final 12, where they'll hope to improve on their finish from three years ago.

"When they're sitting at the start line, they're like feral animals, ready to just rip somebody's throat out," Ivey said ahead of the Olympics.

With that emotional approach, they have the confidence and track record. The pair finished fourth at the 2023 world championships in Budapest, Hungary, and second at the World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, in May.

"Having this extra race was good because we didn't have a great heat, but we were able to come back today to make improvements," Casson said after the repechage. "We got the job done [qualified for the semifinals], but we are not going to say it was perfect. It's a long week, and we are taking it one race at a time."

Eights: 'We have something special'

While Moffat and Casson found their way through the repechage and eye a spot in the final, the women's eight will have to navigate the same route, just as they did in Tokyo.

"It's a completely different crew from Tokyo, and equally, if not more, talented," Gruchalla-Weseriski said after Canada finished third in its first-round heat. "We have something special in this crew, and I know we are in the mix. I know we have the talent, so I'm looking forward to seeing what we can throw down later this week."

The women's eight races the repechage on Aug. 1 at 4:10 a.m. ET, streaming live on CBC Gem and CBC Sports' Paris 2024 website and app.