Rowing medals joy for Britain

01 August 2012 / 12:58

Great Britain celebrated their first gold medal of the Olympic Games after Helen Glover and Heather Stanning stormed to victory in the final of the women's pair.

The British men's eight followed up that stunning success by winning bronze in a thrilling final, that was won by world champions Germany.

Canada overtook the British crew in the final quarter of the race to claim silver.

The British women's quadruple scull of Melanie Wilson, Debbie Flood, Frances Houghton and Beth Rodford, finished a disappointing sixth in their final but this was an historic day for British rowing.

Glover and Stanning destroyed the field in their women's pair final, winning by over a length to make history at Eton Dorney as the first British female rowers to be crowned Olympic champions.

Australia pipped world champions New Zealand to win silver but neither crew was able to live with the blistering pace set by the British pair.

Victory for Glover and Stanning completed a remarkable unbeaten season for the British pair, who came into the Olympics as favourites after winning gold all three World Cup regattas.

The men's eight followed up that triumph by winning bronze with a brave performance, which saw them take on a German crew that is unbeaten in four years.

It was only their third race together in this line-up after 20-year-old stroke man Constantine Louloudis returned to the boat, having missed the World Cup series through injury.

Britain trailed by only half a canvas at the 1000metre mark and they gave triple world champions Germany one of their toughest tests of the last Olympiad but Germany began to pull clear in the final quarter of the race and, eventually, the British crew were pipped for silver by 2008 Olympic champions Canada.