LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND — Following a pair of victories at the 2021 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta and a top two finish in the finals, Columbia Lightweight Rowing alumnus Jakub Buczek '16CC, along with his Canadian crew of four, punched their ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, with a strong performance at The Rotsee over the weekend of May 14-16.
 
Buczek, sitting in the Bow seat, and his crew of four clocked a second-place time of 6:07.84 in the finals to secure the top two finish needed to qualify for the Olympics. 
 
Along with Buczek, Columbia's Alexandros Zisimidis took his crack at qualifying in the Single Sculls event, racing under the flag of his native country Cyprus.  With the help of a repechage race, Zisimidis reached the semifinals before a fifth-place finish ended his weekend.
 
The Canadian crew, made up of Luke Gadson, Gavin Stone and William Peter Simpson Crothers along with Buczek, got the weekend off to a strong start clocking a time of 6:07.94 to take first in the second heat.  Continuing their strong performance to kick off the regatta, Buczek and his crew coasted to a 6:10.75 first-place finish in the Semifinal A/B One, crossing the line two seconds ahead of the second-place boat.
 
With a pair of wins in their back pockets, the Canadian crew of four went into the finals needing a top three finish to secure a place at the Olympics.  Staying within a second of the eventual winning South African crew, Buczek and his Canadian countrymen clocked a second-place time of 6:07.84, crossing the line with a three second cushion between them and third place, locking up a spot in Tokyo.
 
The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are set to open up on July 23 and run until August 8, 2021.  Rowing is set to be the first event to get the Olympics going, with the races scheduled to start on July 23 and the medal races being held from July 27-30.
 
2021 WORLD ROWING FINAL OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION REGATTA (MAY 14-16)
Lucerne, Switzerland (The Rotsee)
 
Men's Four (Jakub Buczek)
Heat Two: 1. Jakub Buczek; Luke Gadson; Gavin Stone; William Peter Simpson Crothers (Canada), 6:07.94
Semifinal A/B One: 1. Canada, 6:10.75
Final: (1. South Africa, 6:06.11) 2. Canada, 6:07.84
 
Men's Single Sculls (Alexandros Zisimidis)
Heat Two: (1. Belarus, 7:03.11) 4. Alexandros Zisimidis (Cyprus), 7:09.58
Repechage R4: 1. Cyprus, 7:07.33
Semifinal A/B One: (1. Russia, 7:10.10) 5. Cyprus, 7:23.78
 
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