The Paris Olympic rowing slate featured a renaissance of sorts for U.S. rowing. After not earning a single medal at the Tokyo Games, U.S. rowers claimed gold in the men’s four and bronze in men’s eight.
The vaunted brotherly duo of Martin and Valent Sinkovic took home yet another gold medal, while Irish lightweight scullers Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy continued their run of Olympic dominance. The Netherlands also enjoyed a slew of firsts, including the nation’s first women’s gold medals in the women’s four and women’s pair.
And in one of the best finishes in Olympic history, Great Britain’s women’s quadruple sculls blazed down the home stretch to overtake the Netherlands for a photo-finish gold medal.
RESULTS: ROWING
REPLAYS: ROWING
SEE MORE: America’s boys in the boat: Back on the Olympic throne
Medal table
| Country | Gold- Silver- Bronze |
Total |
|---|---|---|
| The Netherlands | 4 – 3 – 1 | 8 |
| Great Britain | 3 – 2 – 3 | 8 |
| Romania | 2 – 3 – 0 | 5 |
| New Zealand | 1 – 2 – 1 | 4 |
| Germany | 1 – 0 – 1 | 2 |
| Ireland | 1 – 0 – 1 | 2 |
| United States | 1 – 0 – 1 | 2 |
| Italy | 0 – 2 – 0 | 2 |
| Greece | 0 – 0 – 2 | 2 |
| Croatia | 1 – 0 – 0 | 1 |
| Canada | 0 – 1 – 0 | 1 |
| Australia | 0 – 0 – 1 | 1 |
| Lithuania | 0 – 0 – 1 | 1 |
| Poland | 0 – 0 – 1 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 0 – 0 – 1 | 1 |
Recap: Women’s rowing
Single sculls: Dutch rower Karolien Florijn powered to victory in the women’s single sculls Olympic final on Saturday in a time of 7:17.28, with Emma Twigg of New Zealand picking up silver and Lithuania’s Viktorija Senkute bronze.
Double sculls: The New Zealand women’s double sculls duo, Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis, won gold in Thursday’s final. The Kiwis crossed the line in 6:50.45, just 0.24 seconds in front of the second-place Romanian boat, defending Olympic champions Simona Radis and Ancuta Bodnar. Great Britain finished third in 6:53.22 to earn bronze.
Quadruple sculls: In an epic photo finish in the women’s quadruple sculls final, Great Britain stormed down the home stretch to overtake the Netherlands for a gold medal. The Dutch boat led the race until there were just a few meters remaining, holding a once-commanding lead over the British and German boats. But with 500m left, the British made their move and blazed down the final few meters to cap off an Olympic finish for the ages.
“I had no idea what was going on,” Brayshaw said. “I didn’t know whether we were winning, losing, I had no idea. It was all about belief and trust in what people behind me were saying, and they told me that we could do it, and so I just kept going.”
SEE MORE: Epic comeback win for Great Britain in women’s quad sculls
Lightweight double sculls: Great Britain cruised to victory in the women’s lightweight double sculls final, with gold medal favorites Imongen Grant and Emily Craig securing their spot as the top team in the world.
Pair: Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester made history in Paris, winning the Netherlands’ first ever Olympic gold medal in the women’s pair with a dominant win in the final race. It was a momentous win for the Dutch in an event historically dominated by nations such as Romania, Great Britain and New Zealand. The Netherlands’ star pairing extends their win streak; they haven’t lost a regatta since the 2023 World Championships.
SEE MORE: The Netherlands wins first ever gold in women’s pair final
Four: The Netherlands won women’s four gold for the first time, outdueling the British boat at the final second for victory. The Dutch, with a time of 6:27.13, edged Great Britain (6:27.31) by just 0.18 seconds. The silver for Great Britain marked the nation’s first Olympic medal in the women’s four. New Zealand also earned its first women’s four medal at the Olympics, securing a bronze.
Eight: Romania won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s eights. Canada took silver, while Britain secured the bronze medal. Romania earned its 10th Olympic medal in the women’s eight event, which is the most of any nation. Romania also tied the U.S. for the most gold medals in the event with four.
Recap: Men’s rowing
Single sculls: Oliver Zeidler won gold for Germany in the men’s single sculls event. Yauheni Zalaty, an individual neutral athlete from Belarus, brought home the silver medal, while Simon van Dorp took the bronze for the Netherlands.
Double sculls: Trailing with 500m to go, Romania dominated the home stretch to win gold in the men’s double sculls final. The Romanians edged the Netherlands by just over a second and outpaced the bronze medalists, Ireland, by three seconds.
Quadruple sculls: The Netherlands won gold in the men’s quadruple sculls for the second consecutive Olympics, powering to victory in 5:42.00. The Dutch finished over two seconds in front of Italy and Poland, who took silver and bronze, respectively.
Lightweight double sculls: Ireland’s historic pairing of Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy continued their dominant streak in the men’s lightweight double sculls final, taking home another gold medal in a long succession of victories over the past few years.
Pair: It was a battle of titans in the men’s pair final in Paris, with Croatian rowing legends Martin and Valent Sinkovic taking home the gold medal after overtaking the red-hot British duo of Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Thomas George in the final stint.
SEE MORE: Sinkovic brothers win historic fourth medal for Croatia
Four: The U.S. men’s four — Nick Mead, Justin Best, Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan — won gold in Thursday’s final, ending the nation’s frustrating rowing medal drought that dates back to the 2016 Rio Games. The American four led the race nearly wire-to-wire and edged silver medalist New Zealand by 0.85 seconds in the end. It had been 64 years since the U.S. won gold in the men’s four.
SEE MORE: Back on top: First U.S. men’s four gold medal in 64 years
After winning his first gold medal, U.S. men’s four member Justin Best capped off his Paris experience in epic fashion with a proposal in front of the Eiffel Tower.
SEE MORE: U.S. Olympic rower Justin Best proposes to girlfriend, Lainey, on TODAY Show
Eight: In the final rowing event of the Paris Olympics, Great Britain won the gold medal in the men’s eight final. Netherlands took the silver medal, and the United States won bronze. That bronze was the United States’ first medal in the men’s eight event since 2008.
With the bronze medal victory, the U.S. claimed its 17th overall medal in this event, the most of any nation.
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