Post by Taxigirl on Aug 21, 2004 10:10:22 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/rowing/3585478.stm
Britain's Matthew Pinsent claimed his fourth Olympic gold medal when his crew pipped world champions Canada in the men's coxless four on Saturday.
Pinsent, and Sydney champion James Cracknell, Ed Coode and Steve Williams won by the narrowest of margins in a time of six minutes 6.98 seconds.
The Canadian crew put the Britons under heavy pressure in the final stages.
But the GB four dug deep to edge them out in a photo finish by 0.08 seconds, while Italy took bronze.
Pinsent won his first gold with Steve Redgrave in 1992 and has never lost an Olympic race.
"It is really hard to get any perspective on it at the moment," said an emotional Pinsent afterwards
"I thought we rowed a really good race and controlled it nicely in the middle.
"We knew if we got to halfway and we were with them they were going to be in more trouble than us. Then we just moved on."
Cracknell, who rowed with Pinsent and Redgrave in Britain's amazing victory at the last Olympics, said the win was made even sweeter by the difficult season they had endured.
"There are four years of emotion gone into that six minutes," said Cracknell.
"There has been a lot of crying and shouting in the last 48 hours and it is incredibly hard.
"After such a tough season, it is very mentally gratifying to produce it in an Olympic final, and to do it like that, by a few hundredths of a second."
Coode was also delighted to claim his first gold medal after coming in at short notice to replace Alex Partridge, who withdrew because of a collapsed lung.
"Alex Partridge is the fifth man in this boat, ever since Henley. He has encouraged us all the way and he is the strongest guy out of all of us."
Britain's Matthew Pinsent claimed his fourth Olympic gold medal when his crew pipped world champions Canada in the men's coxless four on Saturday.
Pinsent, and Sydney champion James Cracknell, Ed Coode and Steve Williams won by the narrowest of margins in a time of six minutes 6.98 seconds.
The Canadian crew put the Britons under heavy pressure in the final stages.
But the GB four dug deep to edge them out in a photo finish by 0.08 seconds, while Italy took bronze.
Pinsent won his first gold with Steve Redgrave in 1992 and has never lost an Olympic race.
"It is really hard to get any perspective on it at the moment," said an emotional Pinsent afterwards
"I thought we rowed a really good race and controlled it nicely in the middle.
"We knew if we got to halfway and we were with them they were going to be in more trouble than us. Then we just moved on."
Cracknell, who rowed with Pinsent and Redgrave in Britain's amazing victory at the last Olympics, said the win was made even sweeter by the difficult season they had endured.
"There are four years of emotion gone into that six minutes," said Cracknell.
"There has been a lot of crying and shouting in the last 48 hours and it is incredibly hard.
"After such a tough season, it is very mentally gratifying to produce it in an Olympic final, and to do it like that, by a few hundredths of a second."
Coode was also delighted to claim his first gold medal after coming in at short notice to replace Alex Partridge, who withdrew because of a collapsed lung.
"Alex Partridge is the fifth man in this boat, ever since Henley. He has encouraged us all the way and he is the strongest guy out of all of us."