Team GB have claimed their seventh gold medal of the 2024 Olympics in Paris after Emily Craig and Imogen Grant won the women’s lightweight double sculls final.
Craig and Grant, who finished 0.01 seconds outside of the medals in Tokyo three years ago, celebrated an emphatic victory on the River Seine.
They were somewhat slow to start, but Craig and Grant took the lead at the 400-metre mark and never looked back. Romania took silver, with Greece finishing with a bronze medal for their efforts.
They were still leading with 500 metres to go with a length’s advantage over Romania, and the pair didn’t let up as they crossed the line in first position.
It has been quite a journey for Craig, 31, and Grant, 28, who have both won world titles in rowing but never claimed an Olympic medal.
Craig is a three-time world champion rower but had never claimed an Olympic medal, while Grant won a gold medal in the lightweight double sculls at the European Rowing Championships and the World Rowing Championships in 2022.
At the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, the pair won in the same category with Craig and now, they have banished their demons from Tokyo after a heartbreaking loss.
They finished just 0.01 seconds outside the medals in the women’s lightweight double sculls and 0.10 behind winners Valentina Rodini and Federica Cesarini.
But the duo have secured their legacy as ‘forever champions’ in Paris, as they will be the last-ever winning duo in this particular race. It will be dropped from the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, meaning Craig and Grant can keep hold of their title for life.
It represents another impressive result for Team GB’s women’s rowing team, who have been a cut above the rest over the past few days.
Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgina Brayshaw combined to seal a sensational victory the women’s quadruple sculls on Wendesday and clinch gold for Britain.
Then on Thursday, Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten also clinched silver on Thursday in the women’s coxless four on Thursday, as Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde took bronze in the women’s pair earlier in the day.
In the men’s double sculls final, it was agony for silver medalists Ollie Wynn-Griffiths and Tom George after leading the majority of their race, only to be pipped by Croatia with 100 metres to go.
