The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Rowing earns four medals at U-23 World Championships
07.28.2025 | Rowing
Marg Van der Wal and Ilva Boone (Netherlands 2-) won gold, Abby Dawson (Great Britain 8+) took home gold and Taryn Kooyers (USA 8+) claimed silver to wrap up the U-23 World Championships in Poland.
AUSTIN, Texas – Highlighted by three gold medals, four Texas rowers earned podium finishes at the 2025 U-23 World Rowing Championships on July 23-27 in Poznan, Poland.
Marg Van der Wal and Ilva Boone (Netherlands 2-) won gold in the Women's Pair, beating out silver-medalists Lisa Zehetmair and Laura Swoboda of Austria and bronze medalists Clara Hornaess and Frida Werner Foldager of Denmark.
"We had a really good experience this past week at the World Championships," Marg Van der Wal said. "After being in the Eight together in the 5-6 pair at Texas, we had to finetune our rhythm to go fast in the pair. This was challenging in the beginning, but we had so much fun trying to get better every session. I still can't believe we became World Champions."
"It was great to race with another Texas teammate. We did the full Texas race plan and were still able to the 'two claps' after practice. The Dutch National Team coaches know how to do a 'Hook 'Em' sign now."
Abby Dawson became the third Longhorn to capture gold at this year's U-23 World Championship with the Great Britain Eight, assisting Great Britain in defending its title in the Eight. Taryn Kooyers, competing with the US Eight, finished runner-up to secure silver. Canada finished third to round out the podium.
Texas Rowing had an NCAA-best 14 student-athletes competing at the 2025 U-23 World Rowing Championships on July 23-27 in Poznan, Poland. The 14 athletes represented seven different countries last week. The 14 athletes who participated included Kooyers (USA 8+), Allie Alton (USA 4-), Phoebe Wise (USA 4-), Holly Davis (Ireland 1x), Giulia Orefice (Italy 8+), Dawson (Great Britain 8+), Rhiannon Luke (Great Britain (2-), Paula Becher (Germany 8+), Nike Utesch (Germany 4-), Chloe Cooper (Australia 8+), Lucy Searle (Australia 8+), Imy Grey (Australia 8+), Boone (Netherlands 2-) and Van der Wal (2-).
Players Mentioned
