AMERICAN SWEEP: US Rowing Men's and Women's Teams Glide to Titles in Championship Eights.

American Women Set Course Record with Near-Flawless Performance

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- It was an All-American finish for the 43rd Head Of The Charles[R] Regatta, with not only beautiful, sunny skies, but a perfect performance for the U.S. National Team in the marquis event, Championship Eights.

While the U.S. men's team (14:03.711) glided to a 26-second victory over the University of Wisconsin, it was the women who stole the show. Sporting six of the eight rowers who captured the gold medal at this summer's World Championships in Berlin, the Americans shattered the course record held by the Canadian National team, bettering the mark by nearly five seconds with a time of 15:26.572.

The victories capped a record setting Regatta, hosted in unseasonably warm temperatures and favorable conditions. Strong tailwinds throughout key portions of the race course helped account for 15 course records, five of which were set on Sunday.

National team boats dominated the key events on the final day. In addition to the U.S. sweep in the Championship Eighths, U.S. Rowing also took home the title in the Championship Men's Fours with a time of 15:45.629. Canada, which won both of the Championship Singles events on Saturday, returned to the medal podium on Sunday in both Championship Women's Fours (17:51.281) and Lightweight Women's Eights (16:15.442).

New York Athletic Club joined both the U.S. and Canada as multiple event winners, taking home the gold in both the Lightweight Men's Fours (16:29.091) and Lightweight Men's Eights (14:25.810). The Undine Barge Club of Philadelphia (18:32.293) won the Lightweight Women's Fours event for the second straight year.

The extremely warm temperatures, which maxed out around 72 degrees, helped account for the massive crowds that packed the shores and bridges of the three-mile race course. Officials estimated a crowd of more than 174,000, bringing the two-day total for this annual festival to 305,000.