RIO DE JANEIRO — Sequim rower Elise Beuke will return from Brazil with a top-10 finish at the World Junior Championships.
Beuke and partner Isabella Strickler bounced back from a disappointing fourth-place finish in Friday’s semifinals to claim the Women’s double sculls consolation B Final Saturday.
The event was held at the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, which will also serve as the rowing venue at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
The American duo trailed South African counterparts Rosanne and Tayla-May Bentley by .04 seconds after the first 500 meters of Saturday’s B Final, before surging ahead in the next 500-meter section for lead of 2.81 seconds.
Beuke and Strickler extended their lead in the second half of the race, eventually defeating the South Africans by just under 6 seconds, in 7:22.99.
Their B Final time would have earned them first place in the A Final, won by Germany in 7:32.58.
The American pair missed out on a spot in Saturday’s A final by more than four seconds after finishing fourth in their Friday semifinal heat in 7:31.60, behind third-place Hungary in 7:27.18.
Beuke is a 2015 Sequim High School graduate who missed out on her graduation ceremony in June to compete in the U.S. Rowing Youth National Rowing Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
She will race for the University of Washington’s women’s crew team this fall.
Beuke will join a talented incoming freshman class for the Huskies.
Marlee Blue and Katy Gillingham, both incoming Washington rowers from Seattle’s Holy Names Academy, led the U.S. fours to a gold medal.
Another incoming freshman rower for the Huskies, Anna Thornton of Nottingham, England, won a silver medal as a member of the Great Britain in quadruple sculls.
