Update: Bad weather cancelled Wednesday's scheduled rowing races. Kalmone's race will be at 8:24 a.m. Central on Thursday.

RIO DE JANEIRO – The United States never has won an Olympic gold medal in the women's quad sculls. Then again, it never had won a world championship in that event, either — until last year.

Minneapolis native Megan Kalmoe, who helped the U.S. capture the world title in France last summer, is part of a foursome that will make a run at Olympic supremacy Wednesday at Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. She hopes to finish her third Summer Games atop the podium for the first time, in what will be the final race of her career. Kalmoe and teammates Grace Latz, Tracy Eisser and Adrienne Martelli will face five other boats.

The weather could again be an issue. High winds already have forced changes in the schedule, and racing could be delayed again if a breezy, rainy forecast for Wednesday comes to pass. The quad sculls finals are scheduled for 8:34 a.m.

Kalmoe isn't sweating it. After finishing fourth in Monday's repechage to qualify for the final, she said the group enters the race — whenever it might be — with confidence, thanks to the support of a tight-knit team.

"The U.S. has the best female athletes in the world: the women's eight, the women's pair and our little quad," said Kalmoe, a bronze medalist in women's quad sculls at the 2012 Olympics. "We're just trusting all the training that we do, all the teammates that we have and all the other boats that are here, that have pushed us to get to where we are. Having them with us while we're pushing through is what makes the difference for us."

The Americans will face Ukraine, Germany, China, the Netherlands and Poland in the final. Ukraine is the defending Olympic champion. The Germans have won four Olympic golds in women's quad sculls and has been on the podium at the past six Summer Games.

The U.S. needed to finish in the top four in the repechage to make the final. After the race time was changed because of the weather-induced delays, it beat Australia by .06 of a second for fourth place. The American boat hopes to become the first reigning world champion to win the Olympic title in the event since Germany in 2000.

Matt Smith, executive director of the International Rowing Federation, said strong headwinds and rain are expected Wednesday. Choppy water during the first day of competition Saturday caused a Serbian boat to flip — the first time in 12 years that has happened at the Olympics — and Sunday's races were postponed when wind gusts reached 35 miles per hour.

Officials plan to decide at 5:30 a.m. whether to postpone the morning races. The weather is expected to improve Friday and Saturday, Smith said, and they have the flexibility to run races as late as Sunday morning.