NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Mike Gennaro, the Craig W. Johnson '68 Head Coach of Heavyweight Crew, has announced that Ulrik Pharo Lohne has been elected captain of the Yale Heavyweight Crew for the 2026-27 season. Lohne becomes the 172nd captain in the storied history of Yale Heavyweight Crew, and the first to hail from Norway.
"I am thrilled to announce that Ulrik has been elected captain by his teammates for the 2026-2027 season," Gennaro said. "Our program has a remarkably proud history of being stewarded by outstanding captains for more than 150 years. I could not be more confident in Ulrik's abilities to lead our program into its next chapter. His fortitude, humility, dedication and professionalism are all second to none. Those skills, paired with the strength of the other members of next year's senior class, will be a powerful and positive influence on our entire squad."
Lohne, a physics major from Lier, Norway, has shown immense growth throughout his years with Yale heavyweight crew. In 2024, Lohne was one of two freshmen to row in our 1V, alongside John Patton. The crew won a bronze medal at the Eastern Sprints and finished fifth at the IRA National Championships. As a sophomore in 2025, he rowed in 2V, finishing fifth at the Eastern Sprints and sixth at the IRA National Championships. He was also named a 2025 Empacher-IRCA Scholar Athlete. This past year as a junior, Lohne rowed in the 1V crew, finishing seventh at the Eastern Sprints and eighth at the IRA National Championships.
"It's a deep honor to be elected captain," Lohne said. "When I look back at the lineage of previous captains and what they have achieved I feel humbled. I came to Yale because of what this program represents and the incredible team culture. This team has shaped me in ways that go far beyond rowing. To now be trusted to carry it forward is no small task, but I feel confident doing it alongside the senior class. I've watched three classes of seniors leave this program, exceptional people, every one of them, and with each I've seen what this team is capable of at its best, and what it looks like when it falls short. That experience is something I carry into this role. The new senior class is determined take the best of everything that came before us, bring it through, and we can't wait to get started."
Representing his home country of Norway, Lohne has competed on the Under-19 National Team in 2021 and 2022 and the Under-23 National Team in 2023 and 2024. This past March, Lohne set the program's all-time record for 2,000m on the ergometer with a time of 5:45.2, a record previously set in May 2019 by Tom Digby '20 (5:45.8).
