Molly Reckford ’15 Places Second in Finals at Rowing Olympic Trials

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – Dartmouth women's rowing alum Molly Reckford '15 and partner Michelle Sechser finished in second place in the finals at the U.S. Rowing Olympic Team Trials on Thursday.

They completed the course with a time of 7:11.09, coming in three seconds behind a boat from Cambridge Composite. The duo edged the third-place team from New York AC by 0.85 seconds.

"Trials II was amazing and I'm so glad we were able to fit it into our training," Reckford said. "Racing five times in four days was a challenge, both physically and mentally, and each time we went down the course, I learned really valuable lessons about elite racing. It was only my second regatta sitting bow seat in the 2x, and the experience I gained is invaluable. It was the perfect environment to slingshot us into the next four weeks of hyper-focused training before the qualifiers."

In order to qualify for the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, a boat would have to win in New Jersey. Reckford and Sechser already earned the privilege of representing the U.S. after their performance at Trials I in Sarasota, Florida, but still need to qualify in order to race in Tokyo this summer at the Olympics.

Even though they didn't win their race in Trials II, they will still be heading to Switzerland to compete from May 15-17. If they qualify at Lucerne, the pair will be named to the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team.

Schedules