WASHINGTON – Georgetown University junior Caroline O'Brien (Darien, Conn./Darien) won the lightweight pairs title at the 2018 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Poznan, Poland over the weekend. O'Brien teamed with Sarah Maietta from Boston University to earn the gold medal – one of five for the United States in regatta.
 
Racing against Germany, Italy and Hungary, the duo posted a time of 7:31.11 in the preliminary heat to win by 18.04 seconds over second-place Germany. O'Brien and Maietta led from start to finish in the opening race.
 
In the finals, the pair once again led throughout the entirety of the race but faced stiffer competition from their challengers. Leading by just 1.40 seconds through the first 500 meters, the U.S. led Germany by just 2.75 seconds at the midway point of the race. O'Brien and Maietta began to pull away from there, steadily increasing their lead in the final 1000m to cross the finish line in 7:43.62 and 9.33 second ahead of the Germans at 7:52.95. Italy finished third with a time of 7:58.44 and Hungary was fourth at 8:14.44.
 
The U.S. had 22 crews competing at the five-day event and won eight medals, including a championship-best five golds.