Cavalier Olympians: Kok To Row For Gold Medal

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BEIJING Former Virginia rower Melanie Kok (St. Catharines, Ontario) rowed to a semifinal victory in the lightweight women’s double sculls for Canada Friday at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Kok, a 2007 UVa graduate and first team All-American, and her teammate Tracy Cameron, finished with a time of 7:10.70 to edge host China in the semifinal race. The gold medal will be on the line on Sunday, Aug. 17 at 2:30 a.m. eastern time.

Canada will race from lane four, competing against Greece, China, Netherlands, Finland and Germany.

Kok joins fellow rowers with Virginia ties Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.) and Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), who also advanced to the finals in their respective events.

Shoop, rowing with the United States’ women’s eight crew, will compete for the gold medal on Sunday, Aug. 17, at 5:10 a.m. eastern time. Shoop was a two-time All-American rower at UVa in 2003 and 2004.

Allen, a 2001 Virginia graduate, will row with the United States’ men’s eight crew in the finals on Sunday, Aug. 17, at 5:30 a.m.