Past Games
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
The Beijing Olympic Games was the GB Rowing Team’s most successful Games of the modern era with two gold, two silver and two bronze medals to put Britain top of the rowing medal table.
Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter won Britain’s first lightweight gold in the lightweight men’s double scull, and the men’s four of Andrew Triggs Hodge, Tom James, Pete Reed and Steve Williams continued Britain’s strong tradition in the event, the 2008 vintage carrying on where Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent left off, ensuring Britain won gold in the event for the third successive Olympic Games – with Steve Wiliams the link between the 2004 and 2008 crews.
Katherine Grainger won a third successive silver medal, this time in the women’s quadruple scull with Annie Vernon, Debbie Flood and Fran Houghton, and Alex Partridge, who missed the 2004 Olympic Games after suffering a collapsed lung just six weeks beforehand, won silver in the men’s eight with Tom Stallard, Tom Lucy, Richard Egington, Josh West, Alastair Heathcote, Matthew Langridge, Colin Smith and Acer Nethercott.
The men’s sculling squad won its first medal since the 70s thanks to Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham in the double, matched by the women’s double scull of Elise Laverick and Olympic debutant Anna Bebington (now Anna Watkins) who also won bronze.
- GB Rowing Team squad list
- GB Rowing Team squad announcement – biggest team since 1992
- Soldier and solicitor join Olympic ranks
- GB Rowing Team news reports from Beijing:
- BBC rowing coverage from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Athens 2004 Olympic Games
By the narrowest of margins, just 0.08 seconds, Sir Matthew Pinsent won his fourth Olympic gold medal with Steve Williams, Ed Coode and James Cracknell in one of the most exciting races in Olympic history.
The men’s four broke the line in a photo finish with Canada and claimed gold by a matter of inches.
The women’s quadruple scull of Alison Mowbray, Debbie Flood, Frances Houghton and Rebecca Romero matched the silver the boat won in Sydney although Katherine Grainger, who was part of the quad in 2000 which won the first women’s rowing medal at the Olympic Games, won a second successive silver in the pair with Cath Bishop.
Sarah Winckless and Elise Laverick won bronze, completing a hat-trick of medals for the women’s squad.
- BBC rowing coverage from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games
- IOC video of GB men’s four gold medal race with Steve Williams, James Cracknell, Ed Coode and Matthew Pinsent: http://bit.ly/vkmeUm
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
