London 2012 Day 7: Gold for Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins
It was Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins’ day after all. Three previous silvers for Grainger and a bronze for Watkins were turned into gold on Eton-Dorney lake in the space of six and a half epic minutes.
The GB women’s double scull led from the outset and the script went to plan. Australia tried coming back on them at 1,300m but could not derail what became an emotional ride down the course for them and for the nation.
“We knew we were capable of this in our heads and in our hearts but we still had to deliver it”, said Watkins.
Asked what it was like to finally be an Olympic Champion, Grainger said: “It’s very hard to put into words but it’s every bit as wonderful as you might think.”
Before that final the young GB men’s pair of Will Satch and George Nash had wowed the crowd with a bronze on their Olympic debuts.
“It shows if you do the training and you stick to the programme you can do it,” said Satch.
Whilst Grainger and Watkins were still letting it sink in, Alan Campbell won bronze in the men’s single scull – a medal at his third Games of trying in a race won by his friend Mahe Drysdale from New Zealand.
Much earlier the GB men’s quadruple scull of four-times Olympian Matt Wells, Stephen Rowbotham, Charles Cousins and Tom Solesbury produced a strong performance to hold onto fifth place in their final.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE ROWERS?
Tomorrow sees the final day of rowing at the 2012 Games. Britain has three boats in action: the men’s four and the two lightweight men’s doubles.
Andrew Triggs Hodge, Peter Reed, Tom James and Alex Gregory are the men’s four and they race at 11.30.
Reed, Hodge and James are defending champions whilst Gregory and James are reigning world champions. They face a potentially tough race with Australia as the main opposition.
Kat Copeland and Sophie Hosking are the lightweight women’s double whose final is at 11.50. They rowed through the Greek World Champions in the semis to qualify for tomorrow’s final.
The final crew to race at the Olympic regatta for Great Britain will be the defending Beijing champions Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase in the lightweight men’s double scull. Their race starts at 12.10.