Three medals on a thrilling Thursday for Team GB at the Olympic Rowing Regatta
It was a historic silver and two bronze medals for Team GB on Thursday, 1 August at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris, taking the team medal tally so far to four
Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360
History was in the making for the Women’s four (W4-) of Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten, who won GB’s first medal in their boat class on the sixth day of the Olympic Rowing Regatta in Paris.
Holding tight to the leading Dutch boat through the entire race and trading bow balls in the last 250m, it was the closest of margins across the line, but ultimately a silver medal for GB.
Four time Olympian and three time Olympic medallist Helen Glover said: “You expect tight racing in an Olympic final and that’s what we got today. You just have to put it all out there and have no regrets that you could’ve done something differently. We can hold our heads high because we raced together with lots of heart – we should be proud coming away with a medal.
“There are mixed emotions right now – on the one hand we had the potential to win, on the other hand we know that nothing is a given. For the rest of my boat this is their first ever Olympic medal – that’s a huge achievement and we have to celebrate it.
“My family are thrilled – beaming smiles from them in the grandstand. They’ve loved every minute of watching their mummy race at the Olympics. Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne and I have worked so hard to break into the team as mums and now we’re reaping the reward. We’ve fought those battles now, so every single mother who comes after us will have a journey based on performance rather than proving that they can do it.”
Rebecca said: “Obviously everyone wants a gold medal, but this is still a fantastic achievement in its own right. This field is a tough one full of fantastic women, and we’re a part of that. It means everything to have an Olympic medal around your neck – I’ve loved the journey I’ve been on with this boat since before Tokyo. This also means so much for Northern Ireland – we’ve had medals for the last two days (Hannah Scott winning gold in the Women’s quad) and it’s so good for the country.”
Esme said: “Sam and I both came in after Tokyo and our journey has always felt like we’re building towards something special. It really does mean a lot to me – my first Olympics, my first Olympic medal. We went out there, followed our race plan and gave it everything we had.
“I really trust in these three girls and our coach James and I believe that we delivered our best performance today. What’s next is a massive question – there was so much sacrifice leading into this that everyone wants to go home and see their families. You need to take time and reflect about what’s next, but LA 2028 is a very exciting prospect.”
Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360
The Team GB Rowing Squad’s second medal came in the Men’s four (M4-); an exciting bronze won by Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson. Racing in a stacked field, the four moved up from sixth place through the 500m to finish behind the USA boat in gold, with silver going to the New Zealanders.
Freddie said: “It’s been a difficult road to get here but I’m immensely proud of the race we put together today. We kept our heads in the boat whilst we were fighting through the back of the field and we’ve got a medal around our necks to show for it. Last year we had a smooth run of things and this year we’ve had more challenges. It’s just testament to how quick those guys are. The Kiwis and the USA were absolutely unreal and we’ve got to take our hats off to them, shake their hands and say well done.
David said: “I sensed we were dead last out of the blocks and we might have been. It doesn’t matter where you are at the start, it depends where you are at the end. We watched the Women’s quad yesterday – that was a good race to have in the back of our minds as a confidence builder. It was inspiring to see, and our coach Christian (men’s coach Christian Felkel) told us to focus on that.”
Oli said: “This has been a long time coming and it hasn’t been a smooth ride for me – a couple of years ago I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. I was a reserve in Tokyo, the following year I got Covid and was replaced for the rest of the season, so two years out from the Olympics it wasn’t looking good for me. The rest is history. We went unbeaten last season, World Champions, and I’m so proud and so pleased to have been part of this crew. We’ve been through thick and thin together, I’d say. It’s really what teamwork is made of, and friendship. It’s hard to put it into words, but I’m immensely proud. I’ll keep an open mind about what’s next but I’m really proud of what we’ve done. It’s been epic to be with these guys.”
Matt said: “We got to the point a couple of weeks out where I was like, you know what, we’re not going into this as favourites anymore and to me that took a huge amount of pressure off. And I think that makes this even sweeter. Of course you dream of winning, but I’m incredibly proud of the performance we put out. This has made the last three and a bit years completely worthwhile.”
Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360
Six weeks ago the Women’s double sculls (W2x) of Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne didn’t know they would be at the Olympics, let alone on the start line of the A Final. Coming through the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in May (known as the ‘Regatta of Death’ in the rowing world) as a newly-formed crew, it was the podium and a phenomenal bronze medal to end the season for this crew and their coach Tom Pattichis.
The double went out like the clappers and led through the first 500m of the race. Thereafter they kept contact on the leading crews from New Zealand and Romania right down the lake, holding off multiple charges from the Dutch crew and crossing the line cleanly to win their medal.
Mathilda, who became the first mum to win a medal for Team GB rowing, said: “I don’t have any words. We weren’t meant to qualify and now we’re bronze medallists?! For rowing and sport in general, having a child shouldn’t be the end of your career. Helen and I are proving that. The support around us has shown us what is possible – I couldn’t have done this without the flexibility and understanding of both Becky and our coach Tom. This time last year I wasn’t even back in centralised training and Becky wasn’t part of the team, so the three of us together with Andy’s programme (women’s head coach, Andrew Randell) now have a bronze medal!”
“My son Freddie stops the pressure of rowing from becoming overwhelming. Even at Qualifiers I just thought ‘it’s ok no matter what happens, I’ll see him in 45 minutes.’ He has no idea his mum has just won an Olympic bronze medal – he’ll be told about it in years to come and know that he was part of that journey.”
Becky Wilde’s focus in her boat was so absolute that she didn’t believe they’d won bronze until the scoreboard lit up. At only her third international competition, she said: “It’s still sinking in – it’ll take a while to sink in. It was in the back of our minds that we could medal given what we were doing in training, but to actually go out there and prove that we can do it is incredible. Our Head Coach said to us at Final Qualifiers that there is always one crew that surprises, and we wanted to be that crew. To have done that makes all the hard work we’ve put in with our coach Tom worth it – he’s been incredible, and we have to thank him for that.”
