3 August 2024

By Tim Koch

Tim Koch posts a media release from World Rowing summarising the eighth and final day of the 2024 Olympic Regatta.

For immediate release: Paris, Saturday, 3 August.

The curtain came down after eight spectacular days of racing at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris, France.

After today’s four finals, the Netherlands finished top of the medal table with four gold, three silver and one bronze medal. Great Britain won the same total number, claiming three gold, two silver and three bronze. Romania completed the podium with two gold and three silver medals overall.

The final gold for the Netherlands came in the first medal race when the reigning World Champion, Karolien Florijn added Olympic Champion to her honours. In doing so, Florijn beat the defending Olympic Champion, Emma Twigg, of New Zealand. Bronze was won by Viktorija Senkute, securing Lithuania’s first ever medal in the single sculls at the Olympic Games, and Lithuania’s first medal of Paris 2024, across all sports.

The men’s single sculls had to be delayed until the last race of the competition due to transport issues but eventually also saw the reigning World Champion become an Olympic Champion. The German single sculler Oliver Zeidler got out in front and led all the way to secure gold by over five seconds. A late charge from Yauheni Zalaty (AIN) allowed him to steal the silver medal from Dutch sculler Simon van Dorp, who added a bronze to the Netherlands haul.

An impressive crew from Romania prevented Canada from defending their title of Olympic champions in the women’s eight. It was a second Olympic medal during these games for Romania’s Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis who had won silver in the double sculls just two days ago, and for Roxana Anghel and Ioana Vrinceanu, who won silver yesterday in the women’s pair. Canada took the silver, just pipping Great Britain to the line.

Great Britain became the only nation to win a medal in both women’s and men’s eights when they became Olympic Champions in the men’s eight. Although the British were sitting in silver medal position at halfway, behind the Netherlands, their familiar famous third quarter allowed them to get back into the lead and claim the gold ahead of the Dutch. The USA took bronze in this boat class, their first medal in the men’s eight since 2008.

For race reports, results and photos go to www.worldrowing.com.

World Rowing’s social media channels:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WorldRowing
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/worldrowingofficial/
X – https://x.com/WorldRowing

Row360’s wonderful Olympic coverage in words and pictures is here.

HTBS adds: Britain’s Olympic Regatta

While second place on the Olympic Rowing Medal Table with 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze is a massive improvement on the disastrous performance in Tokyo 2020 (14th place with one Silver and one Bronze, no rowing gold for the first time since 1980), it would probably be churlish to say that it does not quite match the top of the table places in 2016 (3 Gold, 2 Silver), 2012 (4 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze) and 2008 (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze). 

British Rowing’s take on Team GB’s Olympic Regatta performance has no doubts on the quality of its achievements and on its website notes: “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.”

If I had to pick just two people to give credit to for GB’s Olympic rowing successes, I would choose one who is little-known and one who is little-remembered. 

When Louise Kingsley became the Director of Performance for the GB Rowing Team in December 2021, few could have envied her the task she faced. Writing in the Independent online newspaper last December, Tom Harle noted:

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were an unmitigated disaster as British rowing descended into civil war but a new outlook is fuelling a potential return to dominance in Paris next summer…

Kingsley inherited an organisation that struggled with the transition out of Sir David Tanner’s golden era, that delivered 27 Olympic champion crews in two decades…

Kingsley speaks in simple terms about the priorities and skills required to change the culture at Caversham.

“A lot of it is about being respectful of others’ opinions and listening,” she says. “We want an environment where people can speak up and be heard… Culture and people is always a work in progress but are we in a good place and going in the right direction? Absolutely.”

I am sure that there was more to Kingsley’s changes than respect and listening but, whatever else the modest and low profile Director has done, it has clearly worked.

John Major did not get much credit when he was British Prime Minister, 1990 – 1997. While the cricket-loving accountant was generally thought of as honest and decent, he was also perceived as weak and ineffectual, living in the shadow of his predecessor, Margaret Thatcher. However, following every 21st Century Olympic Games, he is praised for introducing the National Lottery which, among other things, has funded British Olympic success in many disciplines. 

In Atlanta 1996, rowing produced Britain’s only Gold Medal (Men’s 2-) and the country finished 36th in the overall medal table. The effect of the Lottery had not yet kicked in but since then British sport has received more than £1 billion from the Lottery and, since Atlanta, the country has won more than 100 Olympic Gold Medals – with rowing adding a disproportionately large number to this haul. 

Rowing will return to Paris later this month for the Paralympic Games taking place 30 August – 1 September 2024.