WAYLAND, MA — Four Wayland-Weston Crew alumni are racing this week in the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Račice, Czech Republic.
Rowing for the U.S. is Kristina Wagner (2011) in the women’s double sculls event; Ashton Knight (2014) in lightweight men’s quadruple sculls; and Sarah Maietta (2016) in lightweight women’s quadruple Sculls. Jakub Buczek (2012) is rowing for Canada in the men’s eight event. Coaching the U.S. Paralympic 2 women’s single scull entry is Beth Noll, a former member of Wayland-Weston Crew’s board of directors.
World Championships livestreaming video and race schedule are available here.
The quaint village of Račice is home to 300 people and the Czech Republic’s Olympic-caliber, 1.25-mile rowing course. Nine-hundred world-class athletes from 65 countries will compete, racing in 14 Olympic categories, six international categories and nine para/adaptive categories.
In international competition, lightweight women’s crews must average 125.6 pounds with no rower over 130 pounds, and lightweight men’s crews must average 154.3 pounds with no rower over 159.8 pounds.
Kristina Wagner of Weston did her college rowing at Yale University, graduating in 2015. She started rowing in the Wayland-Weston Crew middle school program and continued on the high school team. She rowed for the U.S. in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in women’s double sculls. Kristina’s National Team bio is here.
Weston’s Ashton Knight is a 2018 computer engineering graduate of Tufts University. This is his first year on the U.S. National Team. Ashton’s National Team bio is here.
Sarah Maietta of Wayland is a 2020 international relations graduate of Boston University. She has raced for the U.S. National Team in the lightweight women’s pair in the 2019 under-23 world championships, winning the silver medal, and in 2019 under-23 world championships capturing the gold medal. Sarah’s National Team bio is here.
Jakub Buczek of Weston is a 2016 alumnus of Columbia University in sustainable studies. He rowed for Canada in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the men’s four-without-coxswain. Jakub’s Team Canada bio is here.
Wayland-Weston Crew alumni Olympians in addition to Wagner and Buczek are Katrin Reinert ’04, who rowed for Germany in the 2008 Beijing Games, and Will Newell ’07, of Weston, captain of men’s lightweight rowing at Harvard, who then rowed for the U.S. in the 2012 London Olympics.
A number of other Olympians and national team members have been associated with Wayland-Weston Crew including one of the organization’s founding volunteers, Tom Kiefer, who won the silver medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games in men’s coxed fours, and former Wayland-Weston Crew boys varsity coach Tom Bohrer, presently Boston University Men’s head rowing coach, who won silver medals in men’s coxless fours at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.
Founded in 2000, Wayland-Weston Crew is a dual-town varsity sport for girls and boys in grades 9 to 12 at Wayland and Weston high schools. The team races in fall long-distance seasons and spring sprint seasons. The team has won medals at state, regional and national regattas. No rowing experience is required to join. Scholarships are available so that every student can row regardless of family financial circumstances. The organization also offers rowing for middle school students. More information is available at www.wwcrew.org.
This article was contributed by Wayland-Weston Crew Chair Chris Maietta
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