Team GB’s rowers celebrate best ever overseas Games with eight medal haul

August 3, 2024

Team GB won gold in the Men’s eight and bronze in the Women’s eight on the final day of the 2024 Olympic Rowing Regatta

Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360

For the fifth time in history, Team GB are Olympic Champions in the Men’s eight (M8+).

Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford, and cox, Harry Brightmore, who are also reigning World and European Champions, had to pour everything they had into the race, crossing the line ahead of the Netherlands and USA. This was a fairytale outcome for the crew’s coach, Steve Trapmore, who had won gold himself in the Men’s eight at Sydney 2000.

Morgan said: “It was an absolute blur. Our cox was screaming at the top of his voice, we committed, put ourselves into the gold medal position as soon as we could and after that it was survival of the fittest. Everyone came with us. We held on and I think we must’ve clawed something out in the third 500m. It’s been a fantastic 10 man team with Stevie; every decision we’ve made over the past three years has been about this and no decision has been the wrong one.”

Sholto said: “You dream about this, you work so hard for it every day but you can’t let the thoughts of what it means to you cross your mind, you’ve just got to do what you can on the day and that’s what we did. It’s overwhelming how many people are here to support us.”

Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360

The Team GB Women’s eight (W8+) won a brave and brilliant bronze, which is only the second ever GB medal in this event. The crew were also coached by an Olympic medallist, Richard Chambers, who won silver in London 2012.

Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman put in a superb performance. Rowing with the strong rhythm that has been the hallmark of all of the GB crews at this regatta, they held third place behind Romania and Canada through each timing point, despite being pressed very hard by the USA during the first 1500m, and then by the fast-finishing Australians.

Heidi said: “I can’t remember any of the race. I was zoned in from the first stroke, just focusing on Henry, our cox, to try to do exactly what he said on every stroke, one stroke at a time.

Rowan said: “We attacked the whole way. I didn’t ever feel complacent with bronze. We were going for silver and we never came off the gas. If we had, we wouldn’t have got the bronze. So I feel really proud of us, absolutely going right until the last stroke.”

She added: “The entire women’s squad is strong as a whole. The depth is getting stronger and I think with the programme we’re on, we’re going from strength to strength, so I can see GB moving further up the podium in the coming years.”

Today’s medals are a double cause for celebration for the family of brother and sister Tom and Emily Ford. Emily said: “I tried rowing after watching London 2012, but I didn’t start as a natural. Mum and Dad didn’t push us into anything but they encouraged us – we tried all sports.” Tom added: “They encouraged us to follow our dreams and do what we enjoy. That happened to be rowing, and they’ve supported us ever since we decided that we wanted to do it full time and throughout university. Ultimately they’re the reason we were on that podium today.”

The eight rowing medals won at Paris 2024 is one of the best performances seen by Team GB’s rowers. Impressively, 36 of the 42 competing athletes are returning home with a medal.

GB Rowing Team Director of Performance, Louise Kingsley, Rowing Team Leader in Paris, said: “The Women’s quad gold was just sensational, and to do it in that style, winning by the last stroke, definitely gets the message through that it’s not over until it’s over! That got us off to a great start, set morale in the team high and set expectations high.

“We’ve had some cracking races, some great finishes – some we’ve been on the right side of, some we’ve been narrowly on the wrong side of, but you can’t fault any crew. Every crew has gone out there and given absolutely all they have to give, and then for us to finish on that Men’s eight – wow! This is right up at the top end of where our expectations were – it’s been an incredible regatta.”