Lightweight double sculls results  |  Quadruple sculls results

ST. CATHARINES, Ontario – Northeastern alumna Sarah Giancola continued her stellar international career this week by capturing two medals at the Pan American Games in St. Catharines, Ontario. Giancola and teammate Victoria Burke won the bronze in the lightweight women's double sculls before winning the silver in the quadruple sculls on Wednesday morning.
 
On Tuesday, light rain showers brought strong tailwinds to the rowing venue at St. Catharines, making for several fast finishes as Giancola and Burke sprinted past Argentina for the bronze medal in a 7:03.86. Canada's Katherine Sauks and Liz Fenje won gold in 6:57.23 and Cuba's Licet and Yilena Hernandez won silver in 7:00.36.
 
"We just had that little bit left in us, the last 250 to 300 meters or so," said Giancola, who took seventh at the 2014 World Rowing Championships.
 
"In that last 500 meters, hearing everyone just gets you going," said Burke. "People have said it before, and it's true. (The crowd) really brings you home.
 
"We came (to the Pan American Games) to make progress. We have our eyes set on 2016, like everyone else here does. I think we're pretty happy with the competition. We got to experience that build-up, so that's pretty special for us to have that opportunity. We've got a little work to do, and we're looking forward to the next year."
 
Giancola looked to continue the momentum into Wednesday's quadruple sculls race where she (bow seat), Lindsay Meyer, Nicole Ritchie and Burke were a half second behind Canada at the 500-meter mark before the host Canadians sped away from the field to win by open water at 7:07.63. The Americans took the silver at 7:16.26 to edge Argentina by less than two seconds (7:18.09).
 
Held every four years in the year preceding the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games feature competition in 36 sports. More than 7,000 athletes from 41 nations across the Americas and Caribbean are expected to participate in 2015. To earn a spot on the team, Giancola won the LW2x at the 2015 Pan American Games Trails, as well as the W4x at the 2014 Senior I World Championships.