2015 College graduate Dara Alizaden finished fifth in the heats of the men’s singles sculls competition during his debut race at the Paris games.
Not all that glitters is gold. Apparently, it may not be silver or bronze, either.
2015 Penn graduate Dara Alizadeh, who was representing Bermuda in the men’s single sculls rowing competition, was eliminated from medal competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics early this morning.
Alizadeh finished third out of five rowers in the race with a time of 7:17.05, having needed a finish in the top two positions to remain in the competition. Although Alizadeh started the race strong — he was in the lead at the race’s 500m interval — he was eventually defeated by Algeria’s Sid Ali Boudina and Hong Kong’s Chiu Hin Chun.
“I must give credit to [Chun],” Alizadeh told Bernews. “It was the first time we’d gone head-to-head, and he had the jets in the last 200. That’s the way it goes — this is the Olympics. There’s nothing more I could have done. I squeezed out everything and that’s all you can ask for.”
Alizadeh, who was previously a member of Penn’s men’s heavyweight rowing team as an undergraduate, came last in his preliminary heat of five rowers on Saturday afternoon, finishing with a time of 7:23.70 compared to the heat winner’s 6:51.45. As a result of failing to finish in the first three in his heat, Alizadeh was designated to participate in this morning’s repechages.
Alizadeh told Bernews that he was “aware of the situation” after 1,000-1,250 meters of the 2,000-meter race, adding that he “saw the cost of getting [himself] back into a position to advance.” Alizadeh was in fifth place at the race’s 500m and 1000m intervals.
“The risk and reward didn’t pan out,” Alizadeh said. “I was like, ‘Let’s shut it down and prepare for tomorrow.’”
The repechages, which consisted of three heats of five rowers, provided participants with a second chance to qualify for the quarterfinals should they finish in the first two positions. By virtue of finishing in third, Alizadeh was instead eliminated from medal competition and designated to partake in the E/F semifinals.
When Alizadeh participated at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he became the third rower in Olympic history to represent Bermuda at the games. Alizadeh, who finished in 18th in the competition, was also the Bermudan flagbearer during the opening ceremony of the 2020 games.
Alizadeh stopped racing for a year after the 2020 games before deciding to reinvolve himself in the sport in 2022. By participating in this year’s games, Alizadeh became the first Bermudan rower to ever make multiple appearances at the Olympics.
“Even though I’ve been here before, it’s as exciting as the first time,” Alizadeh told The Royal Gazette. “It’s very exciting and you get very giddy getting up to it, and the experience within the Village and seeing everybody around is still very special and exciting.”
After graduating from Penn, Alizadeh also raced at Cambridge University while pursuing a master’s degree, winning two boat races in 2018 and 2019. In the following years, Alizadeh finished 38th at the 2019 World Championships and 37th at the 2023 World Championships. He also placed 23rd at the 2021 World Cup and 11th at the 2024 World Cup.
Alizadeh will next race in the E/F semifinals on Monday against other athletes who have been eliminated from medal competition. While these athletes will not be battling for gold, silver, or bronze, they will continue to compete for placement in the event.
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