It's Finals Time for Kralikaite and Taylor at 2024 Paris Olympics

Syracuse will be represented in two boats competing for Olympic medals on Friday and Saturday in Paris. Former Orange rowers Kamile Kralikaite '24 and Hattie Taylor '17 will race in the Lithuanian pair and Great Britain 8+, respectively, in the 2024 Paris Olympics finals on the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium 2,000-meter course. The women's pair final is Friday (8/2) at 5:42 am and the women's 8+ final is Saturday (8/3) at 4:50 am EST.

"Rowing at the Olympics is quite special," Kralikaite said. "It is the most exciting week of my life, at least as far as my rowing career as I am competing at the highest level of competition you can as an athlete. These are the top 13 crews in the world. For the final race we are putting zero pressure on ourselves because we know we are doing our absolute best performance during A final, which is already a dream come true. We are going to be present and enjoy it."

A 2024 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) All American, Kralikaite is making her Olympics debut as part of the Lithuania pair and is the seventh Syracuse rower to compete in the Olympic Games. She and pair partner Ieva Adomaviciute finished second in their heat behind the Netherlands on July 28 covering the course in 7:22.53, to advance to the semifinals. They beat the pairs from the United States, Denmark and New Zealand.

In the semifinals, Kralikaite and Adomaviciute placed third to advance to the A final, behind Australia and the United States and ahead of Chile, Spain and Ireland. In the A final medal race on Friday, the Lithuanian pair will be in lane one with the United States beside them in lane 2, and the Netherlands (lane 3), Australia (lane 4), Romania (lane 5) and Greece (lane 6).

Taylor and the Great Britain eight advanced to the A final by winning its heat on Monday. The GB 8+ beat Australia, Canada and Denmark. In the A final medal race on Saturday, Great Britain will be in lane 4, with Italy in lane 1, Canada (lane 2), Romania (lane 3), the United States (lane 5) and Australia (lane6).

A native of Kaisiadorys, Lithuania, Kralikaite teamed with Adomaviciute to finish 10th at the 2023 World Rowing Championships to qualify for the Olympics. Kralikaite, a first-team All-American, rowed in the Orange varsity eight that won the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship, won the ACC Crew of the Year award, and placed eighth at the NCAA Championship. Both student-athletes were 2024 All-ACC selections. The 2024 Orange won the ACC Championship as a team for the first time in program history. She rowed in the Orange varsity eight throughout her Syracuse career and earned her Syracuse degree in international relations. Learn more about Kralikaite's story here.

Taylor, a Sunningdale, England native, returns to the Olympics for the second time in her career. She rowed second seat in the Great Britain coxless four that placed fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Games (contested in 2021 due to COVID-19).

As a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team, Taylor has won two World Championships, two European Championships and five World Cups. After initially qualifying for the Olympic team in 2020, Taylor had to re-qualify for the team when the 2020 Olympic Games were delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At Syracuse, Taylor was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team selection. She earned and the Orange placed 13th at the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Championships, won medals at the ACC Championships, the O'Leary Cup and the Clemson Invitational. She competed for the Orange from 2014-2017 and earned her degree in political science with double minors in sociology and religion. Learn more about Taylor's story here.

Other former Syracuse women's rowers include:

Natalie Mastracci '13 (Canada, 2012 London Games silver medalist and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, eight with coxswain)
Anna Goodale '05 (United States, 2008 Beijing Games gold medalist, eight with coxswain)
Tracy Rude Brown '90 (United States, 1992 Barcelona Games, eight with coxswain)
Helen Tanger '01 (Netherlands, 2004 Athens Games and 2008 Beijing Games – silver medal, eight with coxswain)
Froujke Wegman '01 (Netherlands, 2004 Athens Games, eight with coxswain)

For all of the latest information on Syracuse rowing, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Women's Rowing), Twitter and Instagram (@cusewrowing).

Syracuse University Athletics

It's Finals Time for Kralikaite and Taylor at 2024 Paris Olympics

Players Mentioned

Kamile Kralikaite

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