M2+ Lars KIRSCH GER, Gold medallist

About the race:

“We knew we could get ahead in the first 1000 metres and that’s what we worked on in order to save our time. In the heats we had a few problems at the half way point, so we had to make sure we raced even harder before in order to get ahead, and it worked very well. When you reach the tribune, you get a new birth of strength.”

We qualified for the final in the heat, and so we have had the week off, so that’s a bit tough to keep up the excitement.

This week we trained normally, tried to stay relaxed, you do get a bit nervous, but that all goes on in the head. The technical and physical part is all done before hand, the other half is decided in the head.”

LW1x Viktoriya DIMITROVA, BUL, Gold medallist

“It was a very close race for the three of us, equal chances for all, and I’m very happy I could make it ahead of the others!

I’m happy I made the best possible result out of this race, I was very calm before the start, and just concentrated on doing the best I could.”

LM1x Sam Lynch, IRL, Gold medallist

Sam Lynch of Ireland wins gold
© Getty Images

"I remember last year, when I won, Peter Haining said to me that winning the second time was harder, and I thought oh no, no, it couldn’t, but I understand what he meant now. Mentally it’s quite tough out there, you know, because I hadn’t been beaten, and I was the one to beat.

It’s good, I’m really pleased with the race, it’s the best race I’ve ever had, so I can’t complain. It was a really good race.

I know where everything is [Sam trains here often]. There was a massive Irish crowd on the bridge at twelve fifty, and I kind of knew that, and I was relying on that because, I was really struggling at that point, I really felt tired, and then I heard this “Go on Sam, go on Sam!”, guys from my own club, they’re shouting for my club, they really gave me a lift, because you really think that people are here specifically for you and they really helped me get through to about 400 to go, and then you can survive that, it’s only about a minute and ten seconds, you can survive that alright.”

LM1x R. Steve TUCKER, USA, Bronze Medallist

“I’m really happy to be in the medals, I was a little worried, I was quite dead in the last two fifty, but I had a margin, I went out a little too fast for myself.

I guess it paid off, maybe I would have had Stefano [Basalini] if I hadn’t.”

Roumiana Neykova wins gold in the W1x
© Getty Images

W1x Roumiana NEYKOVA, BUL, Gold medallist

"I was very calm and relaxed before the start, as I was up against an Olympic Champion and the World Champion. I had nothing to loose!

The two of them had to defend their position.

I had decided to win, I’m very happy it has come true."

W1x Ekaterina KARSTEN, BLR, Silver medallist

"It wasn’t that it was hard, but I have changed boat class, and I’m also racing in the quad, so I have been training a lot in the quad, and not so much in the single, so that was why it was hard.

I hope that I am ready for tomorrow’s race [the quad]."

On having the World Record taken away from her:

"Well, I beat the record in Canada, after coming back from having a baby, so this time it was Roumiana’s turn [she has just come back to racing after having a baby]."

M1x Marcel HACKER, GER, Gold medallist

“I was hoping for a medal, a gold one is the best I could hope for!

I thought gold was feasible, but if not, then it wouldn’t have been that bad. I won the World Cup season, so this gold medal is the icing on the cake!

The last 750 metres, from the bridge, which was full of fans – I would like to thank my fans – this brought on some additional motivation. I was aching, my bones were burning, but I kept going.

I was 110 percent sure of my tactic [so I wasn’t at all worried that things might go wrong].”

W2- Karen CLARK (stroke), CAN, Silver medallist

“It’s been our goal for this season to be closer with those two boats [ROM and BLR] because last year they were first and second. We certainly had a good race today.”

W2- Jacquie COOK (bow), CAN, Silver medallist

“It wasn’t so much that we specifically wanted to beat one crew or another crew, it’s just that Belarus and Romania have been the top two crews all year, and we just wanted to try to narrow the gap.

I think this race we were very focused and I think that was the best we could have executed with the race today.

Actually, I felt a lot more calm, I could tell we were both just so focused on the task at hand, I wasn’t being thrown by a lot of things that I would usually be worried about.

With the weather changing all week, we had a lot to focus on, just being in the start gates, so the nervousness gets pushed to the back.

The heavy women’s four had a medal already today, we hope we can keep the ball rolling!”

M2- Ramon DI CLEMENTE, RSA, Silver medallist

“We were hoping to get a medal, we couldn’t expect anything, but we were hoping to get a medal, and we did.

It was a very tough race. We had a good beginning, and then we pulled it off from there.

Our strategy was that just after the thousand we would just go for home, fortunately, at that stage, we were in the game, which gave us the edge.

It gave us the confidence, and we took the chance.”

“We haven’t really exerted ourselves all week. We kind of just let the results happen, you know, we weren’t going to try and race to win, it just seemed, as long as we were in the game with a decent lane, there was a chance that this would be enough for us, so this was the first race that we’ve really gone 110 percent, so, it was bit of a surprise.”

M2x Akos HALLER, HUN, Gold medallist

Was it harder the second time round?

“No it was really hard the first time too, I don’t think it was harder the second time, it’s something similar

Actually, our plan was to get ahead by ten boats, and be very relaxed by the end, it didn’t work out, we only won by half a boat, so that’s fine with us!!!!”

M4- Richard DUNN, GBR, Silver medallist

“We knew it was going to be race to the line, they’ve always been quicker over the first half than us. We didn’t quite get the first half we wanted to get, a little bit disappointing, and you know, we could have maybe done it if it had been 50 metres longer maybe, but, at the end of the day, they are a better crew, we’ll go away and learn from that.

It’s a campaign for four years, that’s what we’re here for, we’re here for the Olympics, and this is something we’re going to learn from.

I am a bit disappointed, but we’ve got to find something in each cloud to find out what was good, and find out what was bad, and add a chance, a few things could have been done better this year, and I’m sure we’ll sit down in the next couple of days and work those out.”