The Tokyo 2020 Olympic rowing regatta at the Sea Forest Waterway was full of exciting moments.
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E. Twigg Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Ireland and Greece each won their first Olympic gold in rowing, China returned to the top of the podium, while New Zealand won three golds, including the men’s eight event for the first time in 49 years.
While the United States came home empty-handed as the women’s eight finished fourth in their attempt to capture a record-tying fourth straight gold medal, Great Britain was able to bring home two medals as the sport’s dominant nation.
Here, we’ll go through some of the highlights, run down the medalists, and tell you who to keep an eye on for Paris 2024.
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The New Zealand Olympic sculling team, led by Emma Twigg and Hamish Bond, triumphed in Rio.
Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler won the women’s pair event in Tokyo for New Zealand, the country’s first gold medal of the games. They came from behind in the second part of the race to beat ROC and Canada, the race’s early leaders, into second place.
The United Kingdom placed fourth, with Olympic gold medalist Helen Glover returning to competition after a three-year break to have children.
After suffering defeat at the previous two Olympic Games, Emma Twigg finally found success in the single sculls, much to the delight of her fans.
Twigg was able to take control of the final very immediately due to the absence of two-time world champion Sunita Puspure of Ireland and the slow start made by ROC’s Hanna Prakatsen.
Twigg placed fourth in both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 competitions, despite appearing untouchable after she got more than 500 metres ahead and started stretching out.
Prakatsen Came in Second, Behind Magdelena Lobnig of Austria.
The New Zealander, now 34, took some time off after Rio to complete an Ironman triathlon, go to school in Switzerland, and eventually work for the International Olympic Committee.
She had even begun a bicycle journey across the world, but after attending the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, she decided to head back to New Zealand to prepare for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo instead.
Towards the end of the conversation, Twigg reflected, “The road has been long and winding. It was very incredible and unforgettable to cross the finish line and win the gold medal.
New Zealand won their third gold in the men’s eight after taking silver in both the women’s double sculls and the women’s eight.
Hamish Bond, who won gold with Eric Murray in the pair at London in 2012 and Rio in 2016, was a member of the crew.
Following Murray’s retirement after Rio, where he and his partner maintained an eight-year unbroken streak, Bond shifted to road cycling and won the Oceania time trial title in 2018.
Bond, however, decided to get back into competitive swimming in March 2019 in the hopes of making the New Zealand team for the Tokyo Olympics.
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Last Word
The delay of the Games by a year let a young but strong team mesh, and the 35-year-time old’s in the two-seat was crucial.
At the midway point, New Zealand’s lead was only a few feet over the pre-race favourites Great Britain and Germany. However, the Kiwis broke away to win by over half a boat length with 500 metres to go.
