Women's Eight (W8+) - Final

All three of these crews are off to the Olympics in August and this was their last chance to race each other before the big event of the season. The Netherlands had the fastest start, but there was very little in it between the three crews. By the middle of the race the order had changed completely with last year’s silver medallists, New Zealand now in first and the Netherlands in second with Great Britain making a move.

New Zealand managed to break away a little and they went towards the line looking like a certainty for a gold medal. At the line the New Zealand crew had won giving Rebecca Scown and Genevieve Behrent their second medal of the day. Great Britain maintained their rhythm to finish in second.

Results: NZL, GBR, NED

Frances Turner (c), New Zealand, gold
“It was really hard racing out there, but it was really cool. New Zealand has never won an Olympic gold medal in the women’s eight. Not having USA and Canada here is a shame, but these other two crews are amazing to race against.”

Katie Greves (b), Great Britain, silver
“We are actually a bit disappointed because we beat New Zealand in Lucerne, but I thin kit will be catalyst for going fast in Rio. It is good to have some motivation when going to training camp. I think the problem in the race was in the first 1000m, which wasn’t as it normally is. I think we will need some more spring there and that is something we have to work on before the Olympics.”

Aletta Jorritsma, Netherlands, bronze
“Our race was much better than yesterday’s race. We had a really good start, but just couldn’t push on in the second half.”