Kate McFetridge Wins Silver at Pan Am Games
July 17, 2015 | Women's Rowing
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July 17, 2015
TORONTO -- In her first major international competition, USC women's rowing alumna Kate McFetridge (Thorofare, N.J./West Deptford HS)claimed the silver medal in the women's single sculls at the 2015 Pan American Games regatta on Tuesday, July 14. The regatta came to a close following 15 A-finals held over the course of three days at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta course in St. Catharines, Canada.
On May 20, McFetridge won the women's single at the Pan American Games Trials on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J., and was subsequently named to the U.S. Rowing Team (May 22). The victory was just the beginning of a journey that the former Trojan captain hopes culminates in the opportunity to race in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Representing the U.S. in the Pan Am Games, McFetridge won her heat by almost 23 seconds (7:56.38). She bested that time as she completed the 2000-meter race with a time of 7:38.21 in the final to finish second to Canada's Carling Zeeman (7:30.86). Zeeman was dominant throughout the final to take gold before a home crowd. Despite a slow start through the first 500 meters, McFetridge came back and moved from fourth up to second place. Soraya Jague (7:43.34) of Chile took bronze, as she edged Yariulvis Cobas (7:46.21) of Cuba.
The Pan Am Games are the third-largest multi-sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and the Asian Games. McFetridge was among 178 athletes who represented 14 nations that participated in the rowing regatta July 11-15.
McFetridge began her rowing career at USC as a walk-on student-athlete and rose through the ranks to become a co-captain as a senior in 2010-11. She rowed primarily in the varsity four and second varsity eight boats for the Trojans and was a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic first-team selection and a CRCA National Scholar Athlete. She graduated from USC in 2011 with a degree in health promotion and disease prevention.
To follow Kate's quest for the 2016 Rio Olympics, visit KatherineMcFetridge.com. For more information on USC women's rowing, please visit USCTrojans.com, and follow @USCWomensRowing on Facebook and Twitter.
