Zelenka finishes fourth at Olympic finals

Alumna and Olympic rower Sarah Zelenka and her teammate Sara Hendershot finished fourth in the women’s pair finals August 1 in London.

Zelenka and Hendershot posted a time of 7:30.39, .20 seconds behind the bronze medal team. Click here to read more about the race.

Dozens of supporters gathered Wednesday morning at the Grand Valley Rowing Training Center to watch the competition.

"It was a fantastic race and an exciting finish," said John Bancheri, head rowing coach for Grand Valley. "To beat the reigning Olympic Champions, be .20 seconds from a medal, be behind Germany—the reigning World Champions—and be only a couple years out of college is amazing and we're all very proud."

Zelenka and Hendershot advanced to the Olympic finals for women’s pair rowing after they finished second in their heat on Saturday, July 28.

Zelenka is the second Laker to participate in the Olympics. Barry Klein, a 1988 alumnus, served as an alternate for the U.S. men's team at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.