In the Olympic rowing eight with coxswain finals yesterday, the United States Olympic men's and women's rowing teams came up just short of medal finishes.
The women's rowing eight team, led by Dartmouth graduate Anna Kakela '92, finished a disappointing fourth in the final 1,500 meter race with a time of 6:29.19.
The powerful Romanian contingent grabbed the gold with a time of 6:19.73, followed by Canada and Belarus.
After a first-place performance in the World Championships last year, the U.S. women were favored to win the gold medal in the event.
The women rowed into second place at the 1,000 meter mark, but lost ground in the final 500 meters. A late surge by the Canadian boat took them out of medal contention.
The U.S. men's rowing eight with coxswain team, also considered a medal contender in their event, finished fifth in a six boat race with a time of 5:48.45.
The Netherlands took home the gold with a time of 5:42.74, while Germany and Russia grabbed the silver and bronze.
A late sprint in the final 500 meters was not enough to make up for a mediocre start for the crew, which finished with a bronze medal in the World Championships last year.
Big Green alumnus Ted Murphy '94, who occupies the fourth seat in the men's eight crew, began rowing as a freshman at Dartmouth. Murphy has competed with the 15-man U.S. national team since graduating from Dartmouth
Kakela, who occupies the stroke seat on the eight-person boat, also began rowing for the first time in her life as a freshman at Dartmouth.
After graduating with a major in biology, Kakela raced in the 1993, 1994, and 1995 rowing World Championships, earning a silver medal in 1994, and a gold last year.
Another Dartmouth rower, Odd-Even Bustnes '94, raced for the Norwegian national team in the men's eight competition.