DUTCH FOUR SURGES PAST TEAM USA IN DRAMATIC, NASCAR-STYLE ROWING THRILLER AT LENNY PETERS CUP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DUTCH FOUR SURGES PAST TEAM USA IN DRAMATIC, NASCAR-STYLE ROWING THRILLER AT LENNY PETERS CUP
HIGH POINT, NC — World-class rowing felt more like a high-speed NASCAR race than a traditional 2,000-meter straight line on Oak Hollow Lake this past Saturday, October 24, as the Dutch Women’s Four executed a stunning tactical maneuver to defeat Team USA and capture the 2026 Lenny Peters Cup.
The Lenny Peters Cup also attracted top university crews from the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh to race High Point University and Duke University as well as 200 paddlers for the inaugural Lenny Peters Dragon Boat Races.
Dr. Lenny Peters (center) celebrates with the victorious Golden Koi Dragon Boat team from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The headline match race brought together the two time world champion USA crew of Kate Knifton, Teal Cohen, Azja Czajkowski, and Molly Bruggeman against the reigning Olympic gold medal Dutch crew featuring Ymkje Clevering, Tinka Offereins, Nika Vos, and Linn van Aanholt.
Rather than the standard lane-bound sprint typical of traditional rowing, the course presented a grueling, tactical test centered around a sharp, almost 180-degree hairpin turn around a giant floating duck buoy just past the halfway mark.
Team USA exploded off the starting line, building a massive lead of nearly three full boat lengths by the mid-way point. But much like a stock car carrying too much speed into Turn 4, the American crew mishandled the sharp turn around the duck.
The Dutch crew capitalized instantly. Digging their portside oars hard into the water to pivot on a dime, the Netherlands four carved through the turn with absolute precision, coming out of the bend having erased the deficit and taken a clear 1 1/2 boat length advantage.
Despite a desperate sprint down the stretch by Team USA, the Dutch crew held their line to claim the victory.
"Both crews did an incredible job navigating a tough course," said race director Gene Kininmonth. "To see the turn the Netherlands executed around the duck—down three lengths going in and coming out up by one and a half—was remarkable. This course forces crews to think like race car drivers, and that tactical execution made all the difference."
Saturday’s racing headlined the High Point Autumn Rowing Festival presented by Bethany Medical, which drew nearly 1,000 rowers, hundreds of inaugural High Point Dragon Boat participants, and over three thousand spectators to Festival Park at Oak Hollow Lake. In the prestigious collegiate racing the University of Edinburgh won the Dash for the Lenny Peters Cup ahead of Duke, the University of Oxford and High Point University.
Official race times, full photo galleries, and complete regatta results are available on Crew Timer.
Race Director Gene Kininmonth with the victorious Dutch crew holding the Lenny Peters Cup. The Dutch winning rowers were Ymkje Clevering, Tinka Offereins, Nika Vos, and Linn van Aanholt.
The 2026 Lenny Peters Cup was generously funded by a $200,000 donation from the Lenny Peters foundation. Pictured here are Gene Kininmonth, Elise Peters-Carey and Matt Carey. The event also featured international collegiate boat races between High Point University, Duke University, the University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh won the Dash for the Lenny Peters Cup.
The Lenny Peters Cup also featured its annual Best in Class Dog Show.
Pink ducks were the presented to the medalists on Saturday at the Lenny Peters Cup.
The University of Edinburgh women's crew coached by John Higson won its two dual races and the Dash for the Lenny Peters Cup of Duke, Oxford, and HPU. 
The regatta host team Triad United won the U19 Men's Quad Sculls ahead of Elizabeth City and Beaver Creek Sculling. 
