Rowing Magic – and it’s ladies first at Eton Dorney

The whole country’s dream of Gold came true this morning at Eton Dorney when Rowng’s Helen Glover and Heather Stanning powered their way to a stunning victory.

This  wasn’t just a magical win, this was a win that has made history in the sport.  Glover and Stanning’s gold medal was a first for them, a first for women’s rowing and a first for Team GB at London 2012.

Rowing’s first ever Olympic medal for the women was won twelve years ago in Sydney by a quad that included  Katherine Grainger.   Katherine has gone on to win two more Olympic silver medals and everyone in the sport will  rooting for her and Anna Watkins on Friday 3rd. 

Chairman of British Rowing, Di Ellis, expressed her delight; “An incredible performance by our crews, displaying their determination to meet the expectations of the logo ‘Go for Gold’.  And then ‘Bingo’ – the women have delivered not only the first gold for GB but the women’s first ever Olympic Gold medal. It is fantastic and I am so proud of them.  It is now Gold all the way!”

The strength of the 2012 squad reflects the popularity of the sport amongst women in this country – 40% of British Rowing’s members are women and the numbers are growing all the time. 

Preparations for the celebrations at Minerva Bath Rowing Club, where Helen learnt to row, have been underway for weeks and the cheers in the club room will surely have matched the cheers in the stands. If you’d like to find out more about how you can be a part of rowing take a look at www.britishrowing.org/olympics