Men's Lightweight Double Sculls / Finals
Swiss Brothers Command Win for First Lightweight Gold Medal
Switzerland's Markus and Michael GIER took the lead from the outset in the final of the men's lightweight double sculls and did not look back as the twosome posted a time of 6:23.47 for a three-second win and the right to wear Olympic gold. The victory was not a surprise as the Swiss duo are the defending world champions. Capturing the silver medal was The Netherlands crew of Maarten van der LINDEN and Pepijn AARDEWIJN while Australians Anthony EDWARDS and Bruce HICK took the bronze.
It took a photo finish to declare the winner of the final B of the lightweight double sculls, as Robert SYCZ and Grzegorz WDOWIAK of Poland edged the Italian crew by .09 to place first in the race, seventh in the overall competition. Italy was a favorite for a medal at the Olympic Games after their top finish at the Lucerne Regatta in June, but lost in the semifinals to go to the final B. Taking ninth in the Olympic lightweight contest was the United States, while Greece finished 10th in the regatta.
"Our race plan was not to be too far down going into the second 1000 meters. We knew we had a good second 1000 meters," said Markus GIER. "We expected to be pushed by the Austrians and were surprised to have the Australians out front. But the second 1000 meters was easy. We still had another attack in us if we needed it."
United States Women Stunned by Romania
In a major upset during Sunday's finals, the Romanian crew of Constanta BURCICA and Camelia MACOVICIUC, one of two Romanian boats in the finals, edged out the United States' Teresa BELL and Lindsay BURNS to capture the gold in the women's lightweight double sculls. The Romanians qualified for Olympic competition through a qualifying regatta rather than the world championships, making it the first time in Olympic history the gold medalists gained entry into the competition through a qualifying regatta. Romania finished with a time of 7:12.78 to defeat the Americans by only two seconds. Earning the bronze were the Australians Rebecca JOYCE and Virginia LEE with a time of 7:16.56.
Canada's Colleen MILLER and Wendy WIEBE were back in form after their devastating loss in the semifinal to win the final B of the women's lightweight double sculls and place seventh in the rowing competition. The three-time world champions and pre-Olympic favorites were just a half a second faster Michell DARVILL and Ruth KAPS of Germany, who finished eighth overall. Rounding out the top 10 was China in ninth place and France in tenth.
"When you're the world champion and you win the gold medal it doesn't matter if you're a lightweight or an open," said Romania's BURCICA. "You're the best in the world, a champion."
"It is really exhilarating, the race was fiercely competitive. We clearly had the home country advantage," said American Lindsay BURNS. "It hasn't really set in yet. Not many people have Olympic medals and we're glad to be among them."
Denmark Does the Job to Take the Gold
After placing first at Lucerne one month ago, the Denmark men's coxless four, Niels HENRIKSEN, Thomas POULSEN, Eskild EBBESEN and Victor FEDDERSEN, had a repeat performance, only this time it meant Olympic gold. The Danish raced a time of 6:09.58 and remained in second place throughout most of the race until the final 500 meters, when they moved past the Canadians to attain the victory. The Denmark boat were the 1994 world champions and took the silver in Tampere in 1995. The United States was able to hold the pace to capture the bronze.
In the final B of the men's lightweight coxless four, the French crew of Stephane BARRE, Xavier DORFMANN, Stephane GUERINOT and Henri-Pierre DALL'ACQUA clocked a time of 6:02.39 and defeat the Italian foursome by only .86 for seventh place. Italy was expected to do well at the Olympic Games as they are the gold medalists from the 1995 World Championships, but will finish in eighth place. Coming in behind Italy was the Republic of South Africa with a time of 6:04.13.
"The last 500 meters was the hardest match we have ever had," said Denmark's Niels HENRIKSEN. "After the finish line we had no strength to celebrate.
"When only 250 meters remained Thomas (POULSEN) yelled out '#1' and that made all of us do extra because we knew we had it," continued HENRIKSEN.
German Women Fulfill Expectations
The German women's quadruple sculls fulfilled all expectations during Sunday's rowing finals as the crew of Jana SORGERS, Katrin RUTSCHOW, Kathrin BORON, and Kerstin KOEPPEN captured their second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event. The defending world champions have dominated since the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona,and this year, the crew finished first at Lucerne and established a new world's best time at Duisburg (6:10.80). The German women clocked a time of 6:27.48 for the win, almost three seconds ahead of the Ukraine and Canada, who took home the silver and bronze, respectively.
The B finals during Sunday's competition were extremely close and the race in the women's quadruple sculls was no different as the Russian and American boats crossed the finish line with only .39 separating the two, but Russia had the advantage to win the race. While Russia and the United States finished Olympic competition with seventh and eighth places, respectively, Australia took ninth with a time of 6:25.73.
"We had hoped for the gold," said Germany's Jana SORGERS. "It was closer than we expected. In the first 1000 meters we were not ahead. But the final 1000 meters was not a problem."
Men Defend German Domination of Quadruple Sculls
The German quadruple sculls joined their female counterparts in the event to tally two rowing gold medals for team Germany. The German men have ruled the waters in 1996 with top performances at Duisburg and Lucerne. Andre STEINER, Andreas HAJEK, Stephan VOLKERT and Andre WILLMS, rowed a time of 5:56.93 to earn the top accolades while the United States (5:59.10) took the silver and Australia (6:01.65) took its third bronze medal of the day.
The Ukrainian crew of Oleksandr MARCHENKO, Oleksandr ZASKALKO, Mykola CHUPRYNA, and Leonid SHAPOSHNIKOV posted a time of 5:53.46 in the final B of the men's quadruple sculls to place first in the race and take seventh in the overall rowing competition. Finishing 1.52 back of Ukraine was Russia, who finished eighth, and Poland, who took fifth at Lucerne, came in close behind the Russians to take ninth.
"We hoped to win the gold and we did," said Germany's stroke Andre WILLMS. "We thought the Italians might push us but they did not. This was my best ever race in the quad. I hope it happens again in the future."
Romanian Women Prove Strength in Finals
The crew of the women's eight tallied a second gold for the Romanian women with their victory, upsetting the favored United States boat, who were forced to settle for fourth. The Romanians finished second to the Americans at the 1995 World Championships, but captured the top finish at the Duisburg regatta earlier this year. It was a nearly uncontested race in the last 1000 meters as the Romanians led by a boat length and maintained the pace to finish 4.32 ahead of Canada, who took the silver medal. Canada was denied a repeat performance at the Olympic Games, as they had come to Atlanta to defend the gold medal they earned in 1992. In third place was Bulgaria with a time of 6:24.05.
In the final B of the women's eight, the British led from start to finish to win the race and place seventh in the scull event. In eighth place was Germany who was nearly three seconds behind of Great Britain.
"We knew all of the medalists would be fast, but we were surprised we weren't faster," said the United States' Catriona FALLON. "Everyone pulled their guts out and that's all we could do."
Crew of 1996 Proves Why They Are the Best
In the most popular of races in rowing competition, there was no surprise when the Netherlands crew pulled out the victory in Sunday's Olympic rowing finale, the men's eight. Three-time winners in 1996, the Dutch eight garnered the gold medal and defeated the world champion Germans' eight by less than two seconds, as Germany acquired the silver. The Russian eight crew took the bronze, three seconds back of Germany.
The Romanian crew had a decisive win in the final B of the men's eight to land seventh place overall in the competition. With a time of 5:37.65, the boat commanded a nearly three-second victory over the British eight ,who will finish eighth in the Olympic regatta. Third in the final B and ninth overall was the crew from Italy.
"This is not a surprise. We were always confident we would win," said the Netherlands' Diederik SIMON. "The Germans were very strong and impressive. We were surprised by the Americans. We thought they would be strong since they were home. But we won the gold and that is what is important."
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department.
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