PLOVDIV, Bulgaria – Stanford men’s rowing freshmen George Petrow and John Piersma secured a pair of medals at the recently concluded 2026 U19 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Petrow won gold in the men’s eight for Great Britain, the island’s fourth consecutive world title at the U19 level. Their time of 5:33.84 was just 0.41 seconds off the world record.
For the Americans, Piersma captured bronze in the mixed eight in the event’s debut at the U19 World Championships. The U.S. crossed the line in 6:02.64 to finish third, with Germany taking gold and Romania silver.
Piersma also raced in the men’s four, which came in sixth.
Stanford is coming off a season in which it was fifth in the Ten Eyck Trophy points standings at the IRA National Championship with 209 points, tying a program record for best finish with another fifth-place result in 2009. The Cardinal was awarded the Clayton Chapman Trophy at the conclusion of racing, which is given to the school that accumulates the greatest year-over-year increase in its Ten Eyck total point count.