Craig and Grant etch their name in rowing history with lightweight double sculls gold

Rowing 02 Aug 24

Undefeated, untouchable and now Olympic champions forever.

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant fell short of the lightweight women's double sculls podium in Tokyo by just 0.01 seconds but completed an incredible Olympic redemption arc at the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne.

The pair have been untouchable since that moment in the Land of the Rising Sun, winning world and European titles every time they have stepped in the boat.

And Paris 2024 was no different, storming to gold in a time of 6:47.06s to cement their place in the rowing hall of fame, with Paris likely being the final time the lightweight class will be included in the Olympic programme.

And for Grant, it was a moment she knew has on the horizon the moment they woke up.

"Honestly, it feels like an absolute blur," said Grant. "We were held on the start for slightly longer than we were anticipating.

"There was a certain inevitability about it this morning, I think we woke up this morning and looked at each other.

"I think we both knew that we had it in us today.

"I think those tears were just an outpouring of every early night, every hard training session, every wedding and party that we've missed, every time stressing over a bad session, every selection pressure, every early morning, every horrendous crosswind. Just all of it, all coming out at once."

It was gold from the start for the British pair who had also taken top spot in their heat and semi-final on the way to the last hurrah.

Craig and Grant, who have grown so close they often describe each other as sisters, led from the first stroke and kept their form to fend off an attack from the Romanian pair of Gianina van Groningen and Ionela Cozmiuc in the third 500m.

The Romanians are known to finish strong but it was no match for Craig and Grant who extended their lead and finished over a second ahead of the silver medallists.

Greece completed the podium, a further half a second back, for bronze.

With the loss of the event making way for the likes of costal rowing at LA 2028, Craig and Grant will now hold the title of reigning Olympic champions for the foreseeable future.

Earlier in the session, Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George gave a show-stopping performance to claim silver in the men’s pair after an agonisingly close battle for gold.

Wynne-Griffiths and George had gold in sight at 1980m but were pipped at the line by defending champions Croatia who reigned victorious by 0.45 seconds.

The duo had a solid start, pushing hard to gain a lead over Romania after the first 100m and led for the majority of the race however they were unable to keep that pace in the last 20 m as Croatia rowed to gold.

The Brits had won their first major title at the European Championships in April, and they were looking to become the first British champions in this event since Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matt Pinsent in Atlanta in 1996.

And as bittersweet as silver may be, the pair have now upgraded their bronze medal from the men's eight in Tokyo.

"I don't think I want to watch that back it was so close," said George.

"We did an awesome race and did exactly what we said we wanted to do and we're proud of what we achieved.

"These things happen. A lot was made of us after the semi-finals and we came in as favourites.

"All season whenever we've won we've reminded ourselves that we're going to be hunted and we tried to go well and we did, just three strokes short. I'm proud.”

Sportsbeat 2024

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