Five Tigers to Compete in U23 World Rowing Championships

CLEMSON, SC – Five Tiger rowers will participate in the U23 World Rowing Championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria from July 24-28. Current Tigers Laura Basadonna and Aurelia Wurzel, former Tiger Marie Arnold and incoming rowers Marie Jacquet and Marissa Kump will each represent their respective countries at this week’s event.

“I am incredibly proud and excited that Clemson will be represented by four current student-athletes at the U23 World Rowing Championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria this week,” said Clemson Head Coach Robbie Tenenbaum. “They have all worked incredibly hard throughout this past year and this summer to earn the right to represent their countries on the world stage.”

Laura Basadonna will be making her seventh appearance representing Italy at a World Championship event. The Torino, Italy native participated at the Junior World Rowing Championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Her best finish came in 2008 when she finished second in the 4- event when the event was also in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria.

Basadonna participated in the U23 World Championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The rising senior finished second in the 4- event in 2011 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Last year, in 2012, she finished fifth in the 4- event in Bled, Slovenia.

Aurelia Wurzel, also representing Italy, will be making her first appearance in the U23 World Championships. The Blevio, Como, Italy native will compete in the 1x event. 

Wurzel will be the third in her family to participate in a World Championship event. Her sister, Claudia, competed for Italy in the Olympic Games in 2012 and her brother, Marious, competed for Italy at the 2012 U23 World Championships.

Marie Arnold, a former Tiger who was a member of the Clemson team in 2013, will represent Germany in the 4X event. The native of Hannover, Germany will be competing in her fifth World Championship event. 

Arnold competed in the Junior World Championships in 2008 and 2009, recording first-place finishes in both. She then finished first in the 4X event in her first appearance at the U23 World Championships in 2011. She finished second in the same event in 2012.

Marie Jacquet and Marissa Kump, who will both join the Clemson rowing team this fall, will both participate in the U23 World Championships for the first time. Jacquet, a native of Chalon sur Saone, France, will represent France in the 4X event. Kump, who hails from St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada, will represent the Canadian team in the 8+ event.

Both Jacquet and Kump have experience at World Championship events. Jacquet finished seventh in the 4X event at the European Championships earlier this summer in Seville, Spain. She also finished in the top 10 at the Junior World Championships in 2011 and 2012.

Kump also recorded two top-10 finishes in two appearances at the Junior World Championships in 2010 and 2011.

Full coverage of the event, including results, will be available at www.WorldRowing.com.