Britain’s Redgrave wins fifth gold in regatta

Add as a preferred source on Google

Sydney: Briton Steve Redgrave refused to rule out another Olympic campaign after winning an unprecedented fifth consecutive gold medal on Saturday at the Sydney regatta.

Redgrave, 38, the most celebrated oarsman in Olympic history, teamed with Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell to win the men's coxless fours.

They powered home to win in a time of 5 minutes 56.24 seconds, beating a fast-closing Italy by 0.38 seconds with Australia third in 5:57.61.Australia had won the event at the past two Olympics but fielded a completely new crew for Sydney and qualified as the second seeds in lane four behind the British, the reigning world champions and hot favourites.

After their historic victory, the British crew did a victory lap in their boat along the banks of the man-made course, to rapturous applause from the sell-out 22,500 crowd.

"I can't see myself carrying on rowing any longer but you never know, we'll see in four years' time," said Redgrave, who famously retired at the end of the Atlanta Games, inviting reporters to shoot him if they ever saw him near a boat again.

He later told a BBC TV crew, "I had a good feeling about this all week and second best is never enough. "I felt we had it sewn up after 250 metres. It was all over by then in my eyes. As soon as we go in front nobody passes us - well, not often anyway."

Asked about making history, he said, "Every day is part of history."Team-mate Pinsent added, "We have known for a long time that we could win it, but the Italians pushed us very hard, and you could say that we were hanging on at the end."

Foster said, "They told me that if we won it would not hurt, but I know now they were lying." Redgrave was officially congratulated on the medal dais by International Olympic Committee president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, who presented the nine-time world champion with a gold Olympic pin.

The four British gold medallists stood with their arms around each other for the playing of "God save the Queen" as British fans sang along from the other side of the water.

Seven countries share honours on Saturday

Saturday's seven gold medals were shared by seven countries: Germany, Belarus and Romania in the women's events and France, Britain, Slovenia and New Zealand in the men's.

The day began with frenzied scenes as the second event on the programme, the men's single sculls final, was under way with spectators still wondering who had won the first event, the women's single sculls.

Favourite Ekaterina Karsten emerged as the winner, grabbing her second consecutive Olympic gold medal but only after a photo finish gave her an anxious wait and victory by 0.01 seconds.

Bulgarian Rumyana Neykova won silver in 7 minutes 28.15 seconds behind Karsten, the reigning world champion. German Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski was third in 7:28.99.

Karsten led early but trailed Neykova by 1.61 seconds with 500m remaining."I tried to go first at the beginning, then ease off a bit to leave more strength for the end. I wasn't feeling too well, and it was hard today," Karsten told reporters.

World champion New Zealander Rob Waddell won gold in the men's single sculls in a time of 6:48.90. Defending Olympic champion Xeno Mueller was second in 6:50.55 after leading by 0.52 seconds with 500 metres left in the 2,000m race. German Marcel Hacker was third.

Hacker threw his bouquet into the air and leaped over the fence into the media area after his medal presentation, throwing himself into a series of tearful embraces with those who had helped him get there in the first place.Waddell said he had dreamed of winning Olympic gold.

"Across the line I still can't believe it," he told reporters. "The world record (at the 1999 world championships) was really special but this is something else."

French turn the tables

French coxless pairs crew Michel Andrieux and Jean-Christophe Rolland, silver medallists at last year's world championships, turned the tables to win Saturday's Olympic final with the United States second and hot favourites Australia third.

Australian James Tomkins beamed with pride despite missing out on a third consecutive gold medal but the British crew of Ed Coode and Greg Searle were shattered after fading from second to fourth in the last 500m.

The Romanian crew of Georgeta Damian and Doin Ignat won the women's coxless pairs gold medal from Australians Kate Slatter, who won gold in the event at Atlanta, and new partner Rachael Taylor.

Missy Ryan and Karen Kraft from the United States, silver medallists in 1996, won bronze, exactly two seconds behind the winner in 7:13.00.German pair Jana Thieme and Kathrin Boron, the world champions, won gold in the women's double sculls from the Netherlands and Lithuania.

Boron, a gold medallist in the event in 1992, and Thieme led from start to finish. Slovenian world champions Luka Spik and Iztok Cop won gold in the men's double sculls from Norway and Italy.

Their winning margin was 1.35 seconds after leading by more than two seconds at the 1,500m mark. "It doesn't matter if it was one second in front or 10 seconds. I won a medal. I am very proud," Cop said.



(c) Reuters Limited.