Moorestown Native Begins Pursuit of Gold Medal With Dominant Women's Eight Rowing Team

Moorestown, NJ -- Moorestown’s Lauren Schmetterling is on a Women’s Eight rowing team that is favored to win a third straight Gold Medal in the Summer Olympics in Rio this month.

The team has been nearly unstoppable since winning gold in 2012, and Schmetterling told the Burlington County Times she “loves to represent her country and wear the Team USA uniform.”

The 28-year-old has been part of a championship-winning boat in each of the last three World Rowing Championships, according to the report.

She will join coxswain Katelin Snyder, 2008 and 2012 Olympian Eleanor Logan, Amanda Elmore, Tessa Gobbo, 2012 Olympian Meghan Musnicki, Emily Regan, Amanda Polk and Kerry Simmonds in this year’s games.

She set a world record of five minutes, 54.16 seconds final in the eight at the 2013 World Rowing Cup 3, according to usrowing.org. She’s won nine gold medals internationally.

The Opening Ceremonies for the Summer Games are Friday, 7:30 p.m. on NBC, although the soccer tournaments were set to begin Wednesday. The women’s eight heats are set for Tuesday, with the finals scheduled for Aug. 13. Closing Ceremonies are 8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21.

To view the full schedule, visit nbcolympics.com.