North Shore Rowers Lead Team USA To Men’s Eight Bronze In Paris

WINNETKA, IL — Two North Shore natives helped row Team USA's eight-man boat to the United States' first medal in the event in 16 years on Saturday in Paris.

Peter Chatain, 24, who grew up in Winnetka and went to New Trier High School, and Nick Rusher, 25, who was raised in Glenview by a pair of Olympic rowers, crewed the team to a top time in qualifying ahead of Saturday's final at Vaines-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Chaitain, Rusher, and crewmates Rielly Milne, Pieter Quinton, Evan Olson, Chris Carlson, Clark Dean, Christian Tabash and Henry Hollingsworth were just off the pace set by the British and Dutch boats, who traded first position about halfway through the race.

Though the U.S boat closed the gap with the Netherlands in the home stretch, they missed out on a silver medal by more than 2 seconds.

Great Britain won gold with a time of 5:22.88, the Netherlands finished in 5:23.92 for silver, while the U.S. won bronze with a time of 5:25.28. (Watch video.)

“We all knew if we went out there and had something that was around the level that we've done in practice, we'd have a good result," said Dean, the youngest member of the team and the only rower returning from the prior Olympics.

"It wasn't gold. It wasn't silver, but it got us on the podium, and I think that I speak for everyone when I say that we're really proud of what we did," he said. "It was a super-fast, competitive race, and I think that we were in it the whole time.”

The U.S. has not won a gold medal in the men's eight since 2004, and at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the team was shut out of medals for the first time since 1908.

Since then, the coaching staff was replaced and the U.S. went to to name the youngest team in the final, with an average age of 29, according to the Washington Post.

Rusher, whose father won a bronze in men's eight in 1988 and whose mother won a silver in 1992, said the crew has been able to bond with a lot of hard work and miles spent in the boat together.

"I mean, we’re racing against guys who’ve been in their boats, in their system for the last three years," Rusher told the Post. "The Brits have been part of ‘Project Paris’ since 2019. So we’re really proud of what we did, but there’s a lot more to go.”

Chatain, a New Trier High School and Stanford University graduate, said he would like to continue rowing to be in contention for another gold for the 2024 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“It’s a very unique feeling,” Chatain told the Chicago Tribune. “We’ve just trained for this for so long and now we have this medal to show for it. I think I’m going to go home and be happy for a long time.”

Read more: New Trier Grad Peter Chatain Rows Team USA Men's Eight Into Finals At 2024 Paris Olympics

In addition to Chatain, two other New Trier High School grads represented Team USA in the Olympic Regatta — Northfield’s Grace Joyce and Wilmette’s Maggie Shea.

Joyce, 26,a fellow rower who graduated from New Trier in 2016, competed with the USA women’s quad sculls boat, finishing fourth in their heat and fifth in the repechage heat for a ninth-place overall finish.

Shea, 35, a two-time Olympian and member of New Trier’s class of 2007, on Friday completed 12 races sailing over four dates as a member of the U.S. 49erFX skiff team.

The gold was taken by the Dutch team, who nearly missed out after going for the wrong finish line. The U.S. boat also stopped at the wrong finish line, leading to a 10th place finish.

Shea, who also took bronze at the 2019 and 2020 world championships, said the team's preparation in Marseilles was ideal.

“I am so genuinely and deeply excited about the future of the US Sailing Team because the leadership is huddling around the athletes in a way that I’ve never experienced before in the last 15 years of my involvement with the Team,” she said. “I’m so excited to see what this new group can do."

Watch: Full video of 2024 Paris Olympic Men's Eight Rowing finals Aug. 3 at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium »