Women’s Eight (W8+) – Final

A-Final

Re-watch the live footage here

In yesterday’s test race, the Netherlands finished first followed by two Chinese crews with Great Britain not racing. The British showed themselves today in lane one. At the start China One had the best boat speed and led over Great Britain with the Netherlands in hot pursuit. The Dutch raced in two fours earlier today and both boats medalled (gold and silver). China One was the first to the 500m mark, but there was little in it.

The Dutch then picked up the pace and overtook China One along with Great Britain. The British then tried to close the gap on the Netherlands who had managed to maintain their boat speed. British rowing legend, Steve Redgrave has just been hired to work with the Chinese crews and he must have been watching these 16 rowers and two coxswains intently. China One was still in third but not far off Great Britain. The Netherland, meanwhile, were proving to be too strong. The Dutch had won.

Results: Ned, GBR, CHN1, CHN2

Lies Rustenburg, Netherlands, Gold
“I think our start was a little less than the exhibition race yesterday as some of us had just raced an hour and a half before, but once we got into the rhythm we really started moving on the other boats. We are not sure what crews we’ll be in at the next regatta but we will use this one to assess what we’ll be rowing in.”

Karen Bennett, Holly Norton, Fiona Gammond, Rebecca Shorten (s), Matilda Horn (c), Great Britain, Silver,
“I think we pulled together well and got down the course nicely, it was quite tough having to double up but I know The Netherlands did as well. We’ll go back and work towards Linz.”

Xiaowen Zhang (c), People’s Republic of China, Bronze,
“We gave it our best, everyone prepare so hard for this competition but I think we can do better moving forward.”