Team GB claim 10th Olympic gold in men’s eights to keep brilliant rowing streak going | Other | Sport
Team GB continued a remarkable medal streak in the men’s eight rowing competition by sealing another gold at the Olympics. The British team finished over a second ahead of the Dutch team to cross the finish line in first.
The podium in the men’s eight has been dominated by Great Britain in recent Olympics. They won bronze in Tokyo, gold in Rio and bronze in London.
Incredibly, that sequence continued as Team GB won gold in Paris. Coxswain Harry Brightmore jubilantly jumped to his feet in the boat when he realised his team had won the race.
It was a brilliantly paced performance by Team GB, led by Brightmore. They held off the Dutch by 1.08 seconds, finishing in 5:22.88. The USA secured bronze.
Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charles Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin and Tom Ford rowed superbly to secure gold medals.
It came only 20 minutes after the women’s eight team secured bronze in their own event. Having come last in Tokyo, there was plenty of motivation to land in the podium places, and expectation soared after the women finished fastest in their heats on Friday.
Team GB were comfortably ahead of fourth-placed Australia but were unable to beat Canada into second. Romania breezed to victory with a four-second gap between their team and the Canadians.
It sets up what could be another medal-laden day for Team GB, who are hoping to build on a record-breaking start to the Paris Olympics. Friday was fantastic for Brits with three gold medals and several silvers and bronzes.
Bryony Page became Britain’s first Olympic trampoline champion, while there were also golds in the women’s rowing and the equestrian. Team GB have now won 10 gold medals in Paris and are fourth in the overall medal table.
British swimmers also continued their fine form in the pool, with Duncan Scott and Ben Proud securing silver. There was also a silver for the men’s rowing, although the team were disappointed having led the pack for most of the race.
Team GB’s rowers have made an incredible improvement on their medal haul from Tokyo 2020. Having struggled in Japan three years ago, this year has seen three golds, two silvers and three bronzes.
