GB Rowing scoop 4 medals, rank 3rd in rowing medal table

Katherine Grainger became Britain's most successful female rower when, along with fellow world champion Cath Bishop, she took Olympic silver in the final of women's pairs on Lake Schinias on Saturday, writes Mike Haggerty in his final report from Athens.

This was one of three medals won by British rowers on Saturday, the complete set of gold, silver and bronze.

Today the women's quadruple scullers - Alison Mowbray, Debbie Flood, Frances Houghton and stroke Rebecca Romero - took British rowing's medal haul to four when they just failed to catch Germany but were delighted with their silver ahead of the Ukraine.

Afterwards, Mowbray said, "we have the ultimate respect for The Germans. We knew they would do something special. We thought we could go for gold but that we might get silver, and that's good. We're happy with that".

Saturday's bronze was won by the double scullers Sarah Winckless and Elise Laverick, who chased winners New Zealand and Germany across the line.

The men's four won an epic stroke-for-stroke battle against world champions Canada by just eight hundredths of a second to give an emotional Matthew Pinsent his fourth successive Olympic gold.

Athletes reflect on success

After her race, Grainger said, "right now I feel exhausted but really happy. I'm happy at the way we raced and at the way we approached this regatta.

Throughout their campaign, Bishop and Grainger have been targeting gold and Grainger acknowledged this, saying, "I'm disappointed to some extent because we came here for gold, and we failed to achieve our goal. But it was a fantastic race to be in. We set ourselves up for gold but to cross the line second in an Olympic final is nothing to be ashamed of".

She added, "in the future I might think 'what if' but I'm going to be happy about this race when I look back".

Bishop now retires to pursue her diplomatic career, and afterwards she said, "There is such emotion as this was my last race with Katherine. We went for the big one but didn't quite make it".

When they crossed the line, the pair's immediate reaction was disappointment, but they soon recovered, and reflecting on their partnership as well as their silver, Grainger said, "I'm really proud of what we have achieved together".

By Sunday, Grainger was sure she was happy with silver. "I'm a lot happier. When you cross the line in second place it's a very emotional moment. Today, I can sit back and think about what we've achieved. Gold would have been perfect but silver is a fitting ending".

The men's coxless fours final was the race of the regatta, or any other for the past decade, come to that.

This victory gave Pinsent his fourth Olympic gold - one short of his illustrious former partner Sir Steve Redgrave, who was the first to congratulate him.

Cracknell, who was in the Sydney crew with Pinsent and Redgrave, now has two Olympic golds while yesterday's win was a first for Williams and Coode.

Throughout his career and, he claimed afterwards, even in Saturday's race, Pinsent has been a cold and calculating competitor - but his emotions got the better of him as he wept his way through the national anthem on the medal podium.

Good day at the office for GB Rowing

In some cases bearing the burden of a nation's expectation, in others buoyed up by personal desire to prove the doubters wrong, Britain's rowers did themselves and the country proud this morning.

The day dawned sunny with a forecast for 34 degrees, according to emailer Fiona Insch in the stands. "I'm sitting right on he finish, surrounded by British flags," says Fiona. "Spandau Ballet's 'Gold' seems to be the supporters' song of choice."

Katherine Grainger and Cath Bishop, in their last race together before Bishop commits to her diplomatic career, started the women's coxless pairs final as solid medal prospects. Barring disaster, it had to be bronze or better. And they were better.

Faster off the start than in earlier rounds, the British pair also settled earlier than some opponents and slipped places to lie 4th behind Canada, Romania and Belarus after 500m. And fourth they stayed until 1500m, by which time Canada and Romania had swapped places for the lead.

THe extended opening sprints by Canada and Belarus ultimately took their toll, however, with the British crew rowing through from 4th to silver medal spot in the last 500m.

Typically, Katherine found time shortly after her race to text me a thank you to the Scottish support.

"At the less-than-glamorous drug testing place, but the champagne is waiting," Katherine says. "Very tired and happy. Thank you for all the wonderful support."

What a competitor. What an ambassador.

Little, if anything, was expected of women;'s double scullers Elise Laverick and Sarah Winckless going into these Games - they had, after all, been passed over by selectors of the women's lead boat, the quad scull.

The duo had given an earlier indication of something special, however, with a perfectly-timed charge to win their repechage - though the Evers-Swindell twins of New Zealand were always hot favourites.

New Zealand dominated the final from the buzzer with Germany looking solid in 2nd place. GB were 4th but in contention and, to the crew's enormous credit, they rowed through and stayed through to take Bronze.

The men's coxless four bore the brunt of the nation's expectations, however - a big ask in a year in which the crew had disappointed in competition and been forced to recruit super-sub Ed Coode to replace the injured Alex Partridge (Coode had replaced the injured Tim Foster pre-Sydney, only to be subbed out again following Foster's recovery).

Partridge kept his place on the water, however - the crew named the boat after him in the run-up to the finals - and Coode showed clear determination in interviews that this would be his year.

Pinsent's crew stormed off the start, hotly pursued by Canada and Italy. At half distance, Canada pushed through to the lead - though British supporters were reassured by the knowledge of Britain's fast finish.

In the closing 500m, the British really stood on the gas, only to find that Canada had more left in the tank than anyone expected.

It ended as a bowball to bowball battle to the line, but a British win in the photo finish.

One medal of each colour at the end of day 1 of Britain's rowing finals interests, with real hopes of another medal - possibly a second gold - for the women's quad scull tomorrow.

Rowing finals: deja vu all over again?

With the rowing sem-finals now completed at Lake Schinias, Athens, Britain has qualified four boats out of eleven original entries for the weekend's medal finals. This is the same tally as in Sydney, when two golds and one silver were won: a similar haul this time round remains a target, wites Mike Haggerty.

The qualifiers include the women's world champion pair of Scotland's Katherine Grainger and Cath Bishop, the women's double and quadruple scullers, and the men's four, with three-times Olympic gold medallist Matthew Pinsent aboard, as well as his fellow Olympic champion James Cracknell.

In yesterday's semi-finals, the medal trail ended for lightweight double scullers Helen Casey and Tracy Langlands when they finished fifth. They will now race in the B final.

British rowing's last medal hope lay with the men's quadruple scullers, but they finished a disappointing sixth in their semi-final.

Three crews were in action in 'B' finals yesterday.

Single sculler Ian Lawson finished fourth to rank tenth overall, and double scullers Matt Wells and Matthew Langridge won their B final ahead of Germany to rank seventh in their category.

Victory for Britain's men's pair was a tight-run thing. A perfectly-timed charge for the line produced a photo-finish that gave Tony Garbett and Rick Dunn the win over Italy by just four hundredths of a second.

They too finish with an overall ranking of seventh.

Mixed fortunes as British crews chase finals places

As expected, Katherine Grainger and Cath Bishop were more than good enough to win their repechage. British rowing's other victors yesterday were the women's double and the men's four, writes Mike Haggerty

Grainger and Bishop had been forced to wait two extra days for their chance to qualify for the final because of weather postponements, and they made no mistake when their opportunity finally came.

They took the lead within the first few strokes and, by 500 metres, had over a length over chasing New Zealand. After that it was a case of concentration as they cruised to a strong win.

Afterwards, Grainger said, "that was a step up from the heat. We knew we had to dominate, but now we need another step up for the final".

She also confirmed that they had not been worried by the weather delays. "We made it work for us and used the extra couple of days training positively". Bishop added, "that's us got the momentum going. We've started on a roll today and will be stepping up for the final".

The men's four was equally dominant in their semi-final. They, too, led all the way and recorded a faster time than the Canadian world champions who won the other semi-final. Afterwards, Olympic champion James Cracknell said, "that was an improvement from the heat because of the aggression that we showed and the confidence we've got". His crew mate Steve Williams added, "I feel we can step up as much again".

Double scullers Sarah Winckless and Elise Laverick gave Britain victory number three when they timed their attack perfectly on race leaders Romania in the closing stages.

By contrast, single sculler Ian Lawson just failed to qualify for his medal final, finishing third behind winner Jeuri Jannson of Estonia and Belgium's Tim Maeyens in his semi-final with just two qualifying places up for grabs.

This was the fastest of the three semi-finals and a slow start by Lawson left him with too much to do in the second half of the race.

The men's pair of Toby Garbett and Rick Dunn were also squeezed out. Despite the British pair having the fastest closing 500 metre time in their race, third-placed New Zealand just held off their closing charge, and the British duo missed out on a final place by an agonising six-tenths of a second.

The men's double also came fourth, touched out by the Czech Republic for the last qualifying slot. Despite a sustained power sprint for the line, Britain's eight just failed to catch Germany and Canada in their repechage and now race in the B final of their event.

Crunch time for GB crews in reps/semis

Katherine Grainger and Cath Bishop are finally back in action tomorrow (Wednesday), with the strong winds that disrupted the rowing regatta now gone, writes Mike Haggerty.

The British pair need to come in the first two places in their repechage to qualify for Saturday's final. Their three opponents are France, Bulgaria and New Zealand.

This race is scheduled for 10.20am local time (8.20am in UK)

Also in action tomorrow - at 10.10am local time (8.10 am UK) is the GB men' coxless four of Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell, Steve Williams and Ed Coode. They line up in semi-final action against Russia, Poland, New Zealand, Slovenia and Croatia with the first three crews qualifying for the medal final.

Three other British crew are in semi-final action - Ian Lawson in single sculls, the men's pair and men's double scullers.

Britain's women's double scull is also in repechage action, as is the men's eight.

In Tuesday's racing, the lightweight double of Helen Casey and Tracy. Langlands finished second behind China to qualify.

While the men's quadruple scullers overtook France in the closing stages of their repechage to place third and grab the last available semi-final slot, the lightweight four became the first British rowing casualty when they finished fourth and last in their repechage to crash out.

Single sculler Ian Lawson came through the field at the halfway mark to first overtake his Uzbekistan opponent for second place, and then, continuing his attack, he took the lead off Egypt's Aly Ibrahim to qualify for Wednesday's semi-finals.

Tailwind produces record Sunday times, then scuppers Monday's racing

The course at Schinias is living up to its windy reputation, writes Mike Haggerty.

Racing today (Monday) is cancelled because of high winds. Confirmation will come later but the plan is to run both repechage days in one block on Tuesday, although this might be in the afternoon or evening when the wind is supposed to abate.

In Sunday's racing, Britain's women's quad beat Russia to become the first British finals qualifiers. Everyone else finished fourth, so it's repechage time.

Ireland's Sam Lynch and Gerry Towey won their lightweight double sculls heat to go to the semi-finals, while their lightweight four was second behind Australia but still go to the semis.

Three new world best times were set in Sunday's howling tailwind conditions... by Australia in women's lightweight double sculls, by USA just holding off Romania in the women's eight and by USA again, coming through world champions Canada in the last few strokes of the men's eight heat. In this event the previous world record was smashed by over three seconds.

Those with long memories will remember that rowing was cancelled at the original modern Games in Athens in 1896 because of high winds, so there is "previous" here - not just last year's wind-disrupted Junior World Rowing Championships.

(Factoid: the Olympic rowing venue name is not pronounced "shin-eye-ass" as most of us thought, but more to sound like an insult to someone of slight build in the posterior department: Ed)

Mike Haggerty is in Athens reporting for the commercial press, so we're grateful for his additiolnal pieces for the Scottish Rowing web site.

You can read more reports from Mike in The Herald, the Dailiy Record on line.

"Solid, but no magic",
says Bishop

Although by her own admission she knew it beforehand, yesterday's opening heat of women's pairs showed Scottish rowing's world champion Katherine Grainger and her partner Cath Bishop that no-one is going to hand them Olympic gold on a plate, writes Mike Haggerty.

With Premier Tony Blair in the stands, resplendent in Team GB kit to witness his first-ever international rowing race, the British pair lined up beside last year's world silver medallists Belarus and found themselves a length down shortly after the start.

By halfway they trailed by over five seconds and their attempt to win the heat and move directly to the final was over.

The British duo finished second, and now depend on rowing's second chance repechage races being staged Monday.

Defending Olympic champions Romania strolled to victory in the other heat ahead of Canada, demonstrating that they too will mount a real challenge to Grainger's title ambitions in Saturday's final. Certainly, the three medals seem likely to be given to three of these four crews.

In last year's world final, Grainger and Bishop out-sprinted Belarus and Romania in the closing stages - they will need to produce that turn of speed again next weekend if they are to go to the top of the podium.

When a subdued Grainger and Bishop came ashore, they were greeted by rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave and he held Grainger in a long hug for a private moment of advice before the pair faced the media.

Grainger said "Now we know the gap, and we know what we have to do". Bishop added "That was a solid row with nothing major missing, but there was no magic".

Britain's men's four also started their campaign yesterday, with Matthew Pinsent in pursuit of his fourth successive Olympic gold. The British four, including Olympic champion James Cracknell and crew-mates Steve Williams and newcomer Ed Coode, cruised to victory holding off Italy in the second half of the race.

Reigning world champions Canada also won their heat, and were faster to halfway than Britain, but the British quartet posted an overall time that was six seconds faster than Canada.

"That was a good opener to the campaign, but not any higher than that" Pinsent said . "We started the race well and got control then settled for the win" he added.

Reflecting on a season's preparation that has been hindered by injury and illness, including the recent loss of original crew member Alex Partridge, PInsent said "after what we've been through you take what you can and settle for anything".

Cracknell said, "we'd hoped to kill it off by 1500 metres, but we weren't good enough today".

Britain had three other crews in action yesterday - the men's and women's double scullers, who both finished second, and the third-placed men's pair.

Five further crews start today (Sunday), including the women's quadruple sculls unit, one of British rowing's top medal hopes. Their race programme has been re-scheduled because of the threat of disruptive wind.

A preview from roving (rowing?) reporter Mike Haggerty, who is already at the course and tells us today's weather is warm with a gentle headwind. Mike has offered regular reports from Schinias and we also have reports promised from other members of the Scottish Rowing comunity during he regatta. Thanks to all.
Note: BBC1 TV is covering tomorrow's rowing heats live in Olymic Grandstand from 0700. Race times involving GB crews: 8.10am Women's Pairs; 8.30am Men's Pairs; 9.50am Men's Fours

Tension builds for GB rowing medal hopefuls

Katherine Grainger, Scotland's rowing world champion, starts her campaign for Olympic gold tomorrow (Saturday, 0810 UK time), in the opening heats of women's pairs along with her partner Cath Bishop.

Saturday's race marks the final phase of a crusade that has dominated Grainger's life since she took Olympic silver in Sydney four years ago and, alongside the men's four, the women's pair is among British rowing's top medal hopes.

In pursuit of her dream, 28-year-old Glaswegian Grainger has been exiled in Bisham near the Thames since 1999, enduring a regime that has seen her and Bishop pound out the mileage for at least two training sessions, seven days a week for longer than she cares to remember.

Thinking about her isolation she says, " It's hard being away from Scotland. It's only a short flight away, but the training we're doing this year means that the time is not your own. You miss a lot of family occasions, birthdays and weddings, and that's really hard. You're sacrificing a lot, and that's when you want so desperately to get success because you've put so much into it.".

Proving that she's got brains to go with the brawn, Grainger's punishing regime has not stopped her in other directions. As light relief from her gruelling regime, she is currently studying for a Doctorate. This will go alongside her Law degree from Edinburgh University and her Masters degree in Medical Law and Medical Ethics gained at Glasgow University. Not to be outdone, partner Bishop has put a successful diplomatic career in the Foreign Office on hold for their campaign.

The pair's tag as 'favourites' is not unreasonable. They have won rowing's World Cup this season and last, and burst through with a powerful finish to snatch their world title in Milan last year. Now they want to repeat succes in the Olympic arena. "We've always said we're coming to this to win the top medal. And that's what makes it hard" says Grainger. "Coming in as world champions definitely makes us the ones to watch".

Grainger reckons the medals are between four crews - defending Olympic champions Romania, Belarus, Canada and the British duo. The British pair have drawn Belarus in their opening heat with only one direct place in the final available from the race, so they will be tested from the off.

The British men's four is also in action Saturday, with their toughest opposition being Italy. Also racing are another four British crews.