Men's and women's eight wrap up glittering medal haul on the rowing lake

Rowing 03 Aug 24

Team GB's rowing medal haul at Paris 2024 is proof of just how much can change in three years.

British rowers won two medals at Tokyo 2020, their lowest count since Atlanta 1996 but catapulted themselves back to the golden heights of the early 2000s with a staggering eight medals in Paris.

It all came down to the final day, with the women's and men's eight still with silverware to play for; both delivered to their very best.

The men's crew of Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charles Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and coxswain Harry Brightmore were undoubtedly the favourites heading into the race as current world and European champions.

Six of the crew tasted disappointment with bronze at Tokyo but stormed back to gold at -sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in a time of 5:22.88, to seal the fairytale ending that Carnegie had dreamed of for three years.

"In Tokyo, I was one of the first to race and we didn't go as well as we wanted to," he said.

"I spent the whole week afterwards, wishing I could have that moment before the race back where I could get to do it again.

"As a group, we've managed to do that. We've stuck together, we've worked so hard over this period."

And with a golden message from the Sydney 2000 men's eight pulling them together to continue British rowing's legacy according to Brightmore.

"We had actually a message from all of the Sydney eight and the coach as well a couple of nights ago," he said. "We wanted to say like a massive thank you to those guys."

"Maybe they thought it didn't mean much, but it really allowed us to level up and really attack that race," added Dawson.

Just minutes earlier, the women's eight crew has added to the medal haul with a brilliant bronze behind Romania and Canada.

A crew of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde and coxswain Henry Fieldman clinched third in a time of 5:59.51.

"The whole way I think we just trusted the process and we've really learned to have belief in ourselves," said Ford.

"I think that's exactly what we did. I think this medal is more than just us lot standing here and us lot in the boat.

It’s the people past and present, our friends and family, all our support network.

"So thank you for that. Anyone that's got any ambition, go out there and believe in yourself and do it."

With three golds, two silvers and three bronze, British rowers are back in business, just one medal short of London 2012 - their highest recorded Olympic medal count.

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