Alum Steve Kasprzyk, USA Men's 8 Finish 4th at 2016 Rio Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Drexel Crew alum Steve Kasprzyk and the United States men's coxed eight finished in fourth place, just shy of a medal, Saturday morning at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The U.S. rowed to a time of 5:34.23 to finish in fourth, just 0.39 seconds ahead of fifth-place Poland. Great Britain continued its dominance in the sport, winning the gold medal with a time of 5:29.63. Germany (5:30.96) took silver, while the Netherlands (5:31.59) won the bronze.

These Olympics figure to be the final Games of Kasprzyk's impressive career. The 34-year-old 2005 Drexel graduate rowed in the 2012 Olympics in London, also earning a fourth-place finish.

For more on Olympic rowing, visit www.rio2016.com/en/rowing.

Team USA – Men's 8 Final – Saturday, Aug. 13
Great Britain – 5:29.63
Germany – 5:30.96
Netherlands – 5:31.59
USA – 5:34.23
Poland – 5:34.62
New Zealand – 5:36.64

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The United States men's coxed eight won its repechage Thursday morning to advance to Saturday morning's final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The men's eight, which features Drexel Crew alum Steve Kasprzyk in the 5-seat, finished first with a time of 5:51.13. Rounding out the top four boats, all of which move on to the medal round, was the Netherlands (5:52.95), New Zealand (5:56.94) and Poland (5:59.22). Italy, which rowed to a 6:05.12, finished fifth and did not advance. Those top four boats will join Great Britain and Germany in Saturday's final scheduled for 10:24 a.m. EST. The U.S. will row from lane five.

Advancing to the final provides Kasprzyk an opportunity to win an elusive Olympic medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Kasprzyk and the men's eight finished fourth in the final, just three-tenths of a second behind Great Britain for the bronze. It was a tightly contested final with the bottom four boats all finishing within seven-tenths of a second of each other.

Team USA - Reps - Thursday, Aug. 11
USA - 5:51.13
Netherlands - 5:52.95
New Zealand - 5:56.94
Poland - 5:59.22
Italy - 6:05.12

Team USA - Men's 8 Final - Saturday, Aug. 13 - 10:24 a.m. EST
Lane 1 - Poland
Lane 2 - Netherlands
Lane 3 - Great Britain
Lane 4 - Germany
Lane 5 - USA
Lane 6 - New Zealand

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Because of stormy weather conditions, Day 5 rowing action at Lagoa Stadium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has been postponed. The race has been rescheduled for Thursday morning at 9 a.m. EST.

Drexel Crew alum ('05) Steve Kasprzyk, rowing in the United States men's coxed eight, was scheduled to compete in reps Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. EST. The top four boats in reps will advance to the medal round.

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The United States men's coxed eight, which features Drexel Crew alum Steve Kasprzyk, finished second on Monday morning in its opening heat at the 2016 Summer Oympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The boat finished with a time of 5:40.16, slightly less than two seconds behind the winning crew from Germany, which rowed to a 5:38.22. Poland finished third, crossing the finish line at 5:42.32. Germany jumped out to a fast start out of the gate and went on to lead the race at every split.

With the second-place time, Team USA now moves onto Wednesday's reps, scheduled for 10 a.m. BRT (9 a.m. EST). Along with the U.S., the reps will feature Poland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Italy. The top four boats in reps will join Great Britain and Germany in Saturday's final.

Stay tuned for the official heat sheets to be released. For more information on rowing at the Rio Olympics, click here.

Team USA - Heat 2 - Monday, Aug. 8
1st to final; 2-3 to reps
Germany - 5:38.22
USA - 5:40.16
Poland - 5:42.32

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Alum Steve Kasprzyk, USA Men's 8 Set for 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Former Drexel rower Steve Kasprzyk and the United States men's coxed eight are set for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The opening ceremony will kick off the event on Friday, Aug. 5. Kasprzyk and the men's eight will begin competition, which will be held at Lagoa Stadium, in heat two on Monday, Aug. 8 at 9:10 a.m. BRT The top finisher in the heat will advance straight to the final, while the rest of the crews will move on to Wednesday's reps. Reps are scheduled for Wednesday morning and the final is scheduled for Saturday.

Joining Kasprzyk, who is slated to row in the 5-seat, in the men's eight will be coxswain Sam Ojserkis, stroke Austin Hack, Rob Munn, Mike DiSanto, Glenn Ochal, Alex Karwoski, Hans Struzyna and bow Sam Dommer. Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States figure to be the top crews in the running for medals.

Team USA took the top spot at the Final Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland back in May with a time of 5:29.160 to qualify.

Kasprzyk, a 2005 graduate from Drexel, was a member of Team USA's eight that finished fourth at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, just three-tenths of a second off of a spot on the medal podium. He is one of two rowers in the current Team USA men's eight to be making a second Olympic appearance, and is one of 12 returning rowing Olympians.

He has an extensive resume of international and national success, including a gold medal at the World Rowing Cup II in 2014 and a gold medal at the 2011 Pan Am Games. The 34-year-old first joined the national team in 2007.

Stay tuned for the official heat sheets to be released. For more information on rowing at the Rio Olympics, click here.

Drexel University Athletics

Alum Steve Kasprzyk, USA Men's 8 Finish 4th at 2016 Rio Olympics

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