VAIRES-SUR-MARNE, France – Peter Chatain ’22 earned a bronze medal in rowing Saturday as part of the United States boat in the men’s eight A final.
Chatain rowed in the No. 6 seat for the U.S., which covered the 2,000-meter course at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in 5:25.28.
The U.S. held third throughout the race while Great Britain and Netherlands battled in front before Great Britain took the lead in the final kilometer. The U.S. nearly caught the Netherlands with 500 meters to go, but the Dutch were able to surge ahead in the final stretch.
Great Britain won in 5:22.88 with the Netherlands next in 5:23.92.
This is the first U.S. medal in the men’s eight since winning bronze in 2008 in Beijing and Stanford’s first medal in this race since Adam Kreek won gold for Canada in 2008. The last time a Stanford rower won a medal for the U.S. in the men’s eight was 1988 when John Pescatore won bronze for the Americans.
Chatain follows Austin Hack among Stanford rowers who raced in the Olympics. Hack competed for the U.S. Eights at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games.
Chatain made his Olympic debut in the prelims on Monday, helping the U.S. to the day’s fastest time of 5:29.94 and an automatic berth into the A final. He and all but one rower on the U.S. boat were first-time Olympians.
Chatain, from Winnetka, Illinois, was an IRCA first-team All-American in 2021 and was named Pac-12 Rowing Athlete of the Year. He was a two-time All-Pac-12 first-team selection, including in his final collegiate season of 2023, when he stroked Stanford's Eights at the IRA Championships.
Chatain earned his mathematics degree from Stanford and is a graduate student in computer science with a concentration in artificial intelligence. Chatain was selected to the national team a year ago, not long after his fifth and final collegiate season.