"Representing the U.S. at the World Championships was a huge honor and winning is just incredible. We were so thrilled to have won," Davison said. "To be chosen with Anne is also exciting."
Davison, Kennedy and six other U.S. representatives -- Katelin Snyder, Genevra Stone, Devan Darby, Esther Lofgren, Megan Smith, Kady Glessner and Kerry Birk -- finished the 2000-meter race in 6:06.68, defeating runner-up Belarus by 2.3 seconds. The team captured a solid lead in the first 500 meters of the race and maintained it throughout the remainder. The Belarus crew picked up some speed in the last quarter of the race but could not overcome the Americans' established lead.
"When we made our big move of the race and gained an open-water lead on all of the other crews, I kept thinking, oh my God, we can do this. Just keep pulling hard. We are winning the World Championships," Davison said. "And we bested our personal record by seven seconds."
Germany captured the bronze medal, finishing one second behind the Belarus team.
Davison, a member of the national team for three years, won her first gold on Belgian waters. The rising senior previously won a silver medal at the 2003 FISA Junior World Rowing Championships and a bronze medal at the 2002 FISA Junior World Rowing Championships. She raced in the four seat during this year's competitions.
Kennedy, a first-timer at the World Championships and a 2006-2007 season captain of the women's rowing team, was in the bow seat.
"I am very honored and excited to get a chance to represent the USA -- I don't think I have ever realized just how proud I was of being an American until the day when I got the opportunity to wear the red, white and blue and race for the U.S.," Kennedy said. Davison initially tried out for the senior national team but was eliminated eight days into the camp. She was then sent to the Under 23 camp in Berkeley, Calif., where she trained with Kennedy and other rowers on her boat.
"It was cool to row with many of the top collegiate rowers from all around the country," Davison said. "I have never trained so hard in my entire life. Our coach challenged us to give more effort every day and it was cool to discover that I could push myself harder than I thought I could."
The World Rowing Under 23 Championship is an arena for competitors who are looking to develop into better rowers. Every year, approximately 40 countries and 600 individuals enter the competition looking to display their talent. The United States won the women's four and captured bronze in the women's double sculls at last year's championship. The 2006 competition lasted from July 20 to 23.
American rowers gave stellar performances in this year's championship. Women's pair finished fourth, the men's eight finished fifth and lightweight men's four finished seventh. In the last day of competition, lightweight men's quadruple sculls captured the silver medal.
"I've always dreamed of standing on the medal platform and hearing our national anthem. It was very cool to have finally have that dream come true," Davison said. "I am also excited that Anne and I can bring all the things that we learned training with the U.S. team back to our team at Dartmouth."
