Aug. 20, 2008

Marcus McElhenney, a 2003 Temple graduate, earned a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics as he served as the coxswain for the USA Men's Eight in Beijing.

After finishing second in its heat and then winning the repechage, or second-chance race, to advance to the final, the men's eight of McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.), Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.), Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), Micah Boyd (St. Paul, Minn.), Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.) and Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.) won a bronze medal, missing the silver by 0.23 seconds.

After getting off the line in sixth position, the crew pushed into fourth at the 1,000-meter mark before taking third place from The Netherlands in the third quarter of the race. The U.S. tried to chase down the second-place British crew but fell just short at the line. Canada led the race from start to finish, winning with a time of 5:23.89. Great Britain took second in a 5:25.11, followed by the U.S. in a 5:25.34.