Sunday Rowing Finals

:00:52. > :00:57.It is one of the big weekends of the year in Amsterdam, a huge music and

:00:58. > :01:03.Art Festival taking over the famous Market Square, performance artists,

:01:04. > :01:05.theatre, comedy, music from every side, it is all happening in

:01:06. > :01:18.Amsterdam. And a couple of miles down the road,

:01:19. > :01:23.the best of Richter shabby rock and rolling towards a haul of medals. --

:01:24. > :01:32.the best of British have been rocking.

:01:33. > :01:41.James Foad and Matt Langridge getting a silver medal. They come

:01:42. > :01:49.towards the line, they know they are world champions. Two golds, two

:01:50. > :01:54.Silvers, one of them agonisingly close so a pretty good first day

:01:55. > :01:57.overall and James Cracknell and Katherine Grainger were with me to

:01:58. > :02:04.see it. That men's forwards the highlight. It was an awesome

:02:05. > :02:10.performance. It was a great race and good to round off an undefeated

:02:11. > :02:13.season with victory in the World Championships. Disappointed they did

:02:14. > :02:18.not get a world record but there is another two years before they need

:02:19. > :02:23.to do that. I was more pleased with the men's pair, Langridge and Foad,

:02:24. > :02:30.the way they took on the Kiwis, the fastest pair there have ever been. I

:02:31. > :02:35.am chuffed for them as a new combination. We have almost become

:02:36. > :02:42.blase about it but Helen Glover and Heather Stanning kick-started it and

:02:43. > :02:45.they were never troubled. They are the equivalent of the men's four on

:02:46. > :02:50.the women's team, they were expected to win and they did it in style and

:02:51. > :02:56.with a world record which is a nice thing to have in your back pocket.

:02:57. > :03:02.That will help them going forward. It is a huge achievement. And the

:03:03. > :03:07.fourth medal was the men's quad and it was this close to gold. The

:03:08. > :03:12.fantastic thing, those guys have talked for a long time about being

:03:13. > :03:14.medal contenders. They have consistent medals now and that race

:03:15. > :03:20.would have made them believe they can win it. The men's eight are the

:03:21. > :03:27.defending champions from Korea, can they do it again today? They can do

:03:28. > :03:32.it. Will they do it? I don't think so. They are up against it to win.

:03:33. > :03:37.They will be in the hunt at the sharp end but I think Gold is a step

:03:38. > :03:42.too far. What are you looking forward to? The lightweight men's

:03:43. > :03:50.four is always a great race, normally very close. The British

:03:51. > :04:02.four has been doing very well. The Danish group is the one that has

:04:03. > :04:06.this heritage of success. They beat their own 15-year-old world record

:04:07. > :04:12.but the British crew are only just behind them. How many more medals

:04:13. > :04:16.can Britain expect today? As we Z, the men's eight underworld title

:04:17. > :04:21.winners from last year but it is a new look through this year. -- as we

:04:22. > :04:28.said. Can they defend their crown this afternoon? It will be tough but

:04:29. > :04:32.we are not going to lose. Before that, we will see how the

:04:33. > :04:41.lightweight four got on against one of the crews to be this summer, New

:04:42. > :04:46.Zealand. We are under no illusions, we know how big it is but it can be

:04:47. > :04:50.done. And we will catch up with some of the gold medallists from

:04:51. > :04:55.yesterday after is first afternoon for Team GB.

:04:56. > :05:09.That is the plan this Sunday lunch time.

:05:10. > :05:18.The second day is the same at the first with conditions what everybody

:05:19. > :05:23.is talking about, gusty, rainy, sunny which will make things

:05:24. > :05:29.difficult for the organises and the athlete. On our little podium here

:05:30. > :05:34.it is nice and sunny at the moment. Katherine Grainger, it was not like

:05:35. > :05:38.this ten minutes ago and there is a thunderstorm taking place about half

:05:39. > :05:44.a mile away so we are in the lap of the gods. What impact will this have

:05:45. > :05:50.on racing? The sun is good, the rain is unpleasant but doesn't affect the

:05:51. > :05:56.race. It can actually calmed down conditions. Wind is the biggest evil

:05:57. > :06:01.in rowing, it can make conditions unfair, dangerous, it can make

:06:02. > :06:08.mistakes happen. We don't want to see unfair coming into it. As you

:06:09. > :06:14.said, it is changing so anything can happen. Garry Herbert and James

:06:15. > :06:20.Cracknell our commentators have been talking to one or two people who

:06:21. > :06:25.have vested interests. They are the boys in blue today! James, what is

:06:26. > :06:31.your take on how things are currently? If I was an athlete,

:06:32. > :06:36.yesterday you would have taken lane one, today I would go for Lane six.

:06:37. > :06:40.The rumour is that the governing body will let things stay as they

:06:41. > :06:46.are for the first couple of races and potentially change them later. I

:06:47. > :06:50.think they should bite the bullet and change them now but it is

:06:51. > :06:56.difficult. The big governing bodies like Britain and America and Germany

:06:57. > :07:02.will be putting pressure on them to change it or not depending on where

:07:03. > :07:15.their crews R. Our men's eight and men's lightweight four are in lane

:07:16. > :07:20.five are in a good Lane. They will perhaps want to leave it. What do

:07:21. > :07:26.you think? They have to make the right decision. Looking at the

:07:27. > :07:37.things in the last couple of days, the winner of the B final was the

:07:38. > :07:42.Olympic champion, Mirka Knapkova. They don't want the wrong decision.

:07:43. > :07:46.The medals are being handed out. This has been a great regatta from

:07:47. > :07:53.an organisational point of view but it does not need to be marred by the

:07:54. > :07:59.wrong results. The bottom line is, no athlete would choose lane one

:08:00. > :08:03.over Lane six and that is why the fairness committee should change it.

:08:04. > :08:09.If every athlete would choose one side over the other, it is not fair.

:08:10. > :08:13.We are watching it on our monitors. As soon as the governing body make

:08:14. > :08:17.the decision they will update it but we are minutes away from the first

:08:18. > :08:24.race and the lane order is as it was. As we were saying, conditions

:08:25. > :08:28.are changeable by the moment. We will let you know if they change.

:08:29. > :08:34.Let's reflect on what happened yesterday. Over the past two decades

:08:35. > :08:38.we have got used to be coxless for fulfilling our expectations at every

:08:39. > :08:49.turn and yesterday was no exception -- coxless four. They are away. They

:08:50. > :08:55.started as champions. I would be worried if I was the opposition that

:08:56. > :09:02.they are half a length up already. They are being chased hard by the

:09:03. > :09:08.Americans. USA are squeezing on as we come through 800 metres. At half

:09:09. > :09:12.way it is Great Britain from United States of America. Great Britain are

:09:13. > :09:17.composed, a brilliant third 500, they have pushed and lifted the boat

:09:18. > :09:22.out of the water and outs to a length. There is no need for them to

:09:23. > :09:28.do what they are doing, they are going for it. Andy Triggs Hodge

:09:29. > :09:36.driving them towards the line, they are world champions, over and clear

:09:37. > :09:43.and they will finish the year as they started. European champions,

:09:44. > :09:49.world champions. Not a bad year all round.

:09:50. > :09:57.It is actually a coxless duo because two of the guys are on spare duty

:09:58. > :10:01.later but Andy and George, thanks for being here. The morning after

:10:02. > :10:07.the night before, is it job well done? Definitely. I had a quick look

:10:08. > :10:16.at the race this morning on the Internet. I realised I did not look

:10:17. > :10:24.at any of the other crews in the race, we were that focused. Stepping

:10:25. > :10:30.back and appreciating what you did, that smile on my face, you look at

:10:31. > :10:34.the medal, and we did do it. Looking at how it went, pretty pleased. We

:10:35. > :10:45.now have a full condiment so thanks for joining us. -- full complement.

:10:46. > :10:51.Being spares, are you the lucky guys to be left out? Were you not able to

:10:52. > :10:58.celebrate last night? No, it was fairly subdued. We are just trying

:10:59. > :11:00.to support the team as best we can and that means going to bed early

:11:01. > :11:03.and supporting the eight. and that means going to bed early

:11:04. > :11:10.and supporting the Did you draw lots on this or were you told? No,

:11:11. > :11:15.looking for what the guys have been doing, I am getting a bit old and

:11:16. > :11:20.with that! It is about time some of the younger guys took the helm! You

:11:21. > :11:29.are fairly old and withered down the end? Speak for yourself! No, I am

:11:30. > :11:34.one of the oldest now. It feels like yesterday I just turned up but now I

:11:35. > :11:40.am old! Don't let the facial hair full view, he is 24! So after a

:11:41. > :11:45.quiet night in, did you watch the race? Yes, I had dinner with my

:11:46. > :11:51.parents and my little boy and watched the race. What were your

:11:52. > :11:54.thoughts watching objectively? We always don't really enjoy watching

:11:55. > :12:05.it, you pick up on things that are maybe not

:12:06. > :12:05.it, you pick up on things that are not rowers. I hate watching myself.

:12:06. > :12:11.It was a good race and we pulled out a good one and I am happy. Is it

:12:12. > :12:16.easier watching when you win? Definitely, it is terrible when you

:12:17. > :12:24.don't win! You don't have many of those. Hopefully not! When you do

:12:25. > :12:29.review a race, are you watching the crew as an entity or are you

:12:30. > :12:36.particularly focusing on yourself? A bit of both. Personally, when I

:12:37. > :12:40.watch it, I cannot get away from self analysing and looking at what I

:12:41. > :12:51.am doing and what I could do better. Which is generally quite a

:12:52. > :12:57.bit! But when we came off the water, it was great that we had won but

:12:58. > :13:01.also great that there are things to work on and improve for next season

:13:02. > :13:08.which is important. If you come off thinking that is awesome, it is

:13:09. > :13:13.difficult to keep momentum going. We used the word awesome several times

:13:14. > :13:18.yesterday and it was a fantastic summer all round. Let's hope you are

:13:19. > :13:21.not involved later and enjoy your three weeks off because you have

:13:22. > :13:22.certainly earned it. Let's go down to the other end of the course for

:13:23. > :13:33.some live action. COMMENTATOR: Near-perfect

:13:34. > :13:38.conditions, we are off in the final of the men's double sculls,

:13:39. > :13:46.Australia in one, Germany into, Lithuania in three, that is the boat

:13:47. > :13:56.to watch out for. Alongside them in lane five, Italy and Bulgaria are

:13:57. > :14:01.closest to us. To give you an overview of this event. Earlier

:14:02. > :14:07.today, John Collins and Jonathan Walton won there be final, a great

:14:08. > :14:18.result for them giving them seventh overall. -- the B final. Norway have

:14:19. > :14:21.not qualified, New Zealand, the Olympic champions, a different boat

:14:22. > :14:29.in this regatta but they are always strong, but they did not qualify

:14:30. > :14:34.either. It is a deep field in their lot of strong crews. The pecking

:14:35. > :14:38.order can change. Croatia have moved it on, the Sinkovic brothers were in

:14:39. > :14:41.the men's quad last year and they have changed to the double and they

:14:42. > :14:46.are leading by a length. They have moved it on and others have been

:14:47. > :14:50.forced to take a risk to try to match them and they are showing the

:14:51. > :14:55.way at the moment. Germany have shown speed in the last couple of

:14:56. > :15:01.years and they have to up it if they are to get with the Croatians. The

:15:02. > :15:09.wind will start to pick up as they move into this second quarter.

:15:10. > :15:15.Clearwater now for Croatia, the Sinkovic brothers. Martin in the

:15:16. > :15:21.bow, 24 years of age, balancing the pitch in the stroke seat, world

:15:22. > :15:25.champions last year in the quadruple sculls, and they are away and clear

:15:26. > :15:32.at the moment. We can just see the wake in that

:15:33. > :15:46.last shot. They have taken it out We can just see the wake in that

:15:47. > :15:52.and laid their cards down. The former Yugoslavian nations, when

:15:53. > :15:55.they are on form, they are mightily impressive, Croatia, Serbia,

:15:56. > :16:00.Slovenia, they are all very good when they are good but when they

:16:01. > :16:07.have a bad day, they are at the opposite end of the field! I am

:16:08. > :16:14.surprised about how slow Lithuania are, the other semifinal winners.

:16:15. > :16:19.Croatia are so far ahead. Through the 1000 metre mark in this final,

:16:20. > :16:23.the men's heavyweight double sculls. Right from the first stroke, the

:16:24. > :16:29.Sinkovic brothers from Croatia have taken it on and they are in the

:16:30. > :16:37.enviable position of looking back at a field that is fighting for silver

:16:38. > :16:43.and bronze. They are still on it, they slide crossed tailwind so we

:16:44. > :16:52.would expect quick times. -- a slight cross tailwind. They are up

:16:53. > :17:01.on 30s and strokes, perhaps pushing on for a world best time -- 37

:17:02. > :17:07.strokes. You can see the Italians closest to us in lane five, it is

:17:08. > :17:21.quite bouncy, they have more wind and I would rather be in their lane

:17:22. > :17:24.than Australia. I would not be the prized if the fairness committee put

:17:25. > :17:30.their heads out of the sand and realised it is not fair -- I would

:17:31. > :17:38.not be surprised. Coming up to the last quarter. We are looking at the

:17:39. > :17:44.fight for the bronze medal. Through 1500 metres and by some considerable

:17:45. > :17:51.distance, a length and a half of Clearwater, Croatia over Italy and

:17:52. > :17:57.we now have Australia, Germany and Lithuania at link it out for the

:17:58. > :18:00.bronze medal. So much going on as the Croatian crew, the Sinkovic

:18:01. > :18:07.brothers continued to stretch out their margin. Great Britain finished

:18:08. > :18:13.first in the B final earlier. A lot to be done, perhaps Alan Campbell,

:18:14. > :18:18.who has not come to this World Championships, might step up into

:18:19. > :18:33.that? He might do. The clear thing is that the men's quad will be full

:18:34. > :18:39.of the best scholars. -- scullers. Croatia are very strong, they have

:18:40. > :18:47.strength and relaxation which is a dangerous combination. The

:18:48. > :18:54.Australians up in lane one... Italy are running out of gas at the wrong

:18:55. > :19:00.time. They are going to be caught. 150 metres. They are charging up to

:19:01. > :19:05.the line, inside 100, ten strokes. Croatia, the Sinkovic brothers

:19:06. > :19:11.stretching out one more time. No sprint, the Italians are barely

:19:12. > :19:16.hanging on, a massive push here but on the far side, Australia coming,

:19:17. > :19:22.Italians will hold on... We will wait for the full confirmation.

:19:23. > :19:28.Three strokes out they were up, Australia came through, bringing

:19:29. > :19:35.Germany and Lithuania with them. Just outside the world best time for

:19:36. > :19:48.Croatia but the take gold, Italy takes silver. By a hundredth of a

:19:49. > :19:53.second! And Australia in lane one get the bronze medal. It does not

:19:54. > :20:02.get closer than that for silver and bronze. From the first stroke,

:20:03. > :20:08.dominating this event, Croatia. They are up, actually, that is very

:20:09. > :20:13.close! If I was the Australian manager, I would want to see the

:20:14. > :20:19.photo finish right now because from the naked eye it looked like

:20:20. > :20:24.Australia got that. It did. Lithuania were getting stronger as

:20:25. > :20:35.well as Germany faded. This is the line. Both crews blades out of the

:20:36. > :20:36.water. That is a tough one. Not sure what they can do, everybody is

:20:37. > :20:54.looking at their screens. That is the British women's aid that

:20:55. > :20:58.will be growing shortly. -- women's eight. Very exciting race. I think

:20:59. > :21:05.Australia were second and you think Italy were second. It depends which

:21:06. > :21:11.I I had open! They still have not announced who it was. We will find

:21:12. > :21:16.out. We ought to mention, we did not have a British crew in that but in

:21:17. > :21:22.the B final earlier we did have success from the British pair who

:21:23. > :21:27.were in action. John Collins from Twickenham and Jonathan Walton from

:21:28. > :21:31.Leicester getting consolation for not making it into the main event

:21:32. > :21:37.but that it expected of them in the weeks and months and years to come.

:21:38. > :21:44.What did you make of that race? A great advert for the sport.

:21:45. > :21:48.Absolutely. As an athlete you want to be on the right side a bit but

:21:49. > :21:54.that is what any final should be, fierce and fast and strong and

:21:55. > :22:01.competitive and changing. Great to watch. I think we have still got the

:22:02. > :22:05.closing stages and they have still not announced who was second and

:22:06. > :22:13.third. That was the wrong footage but not to worry. I am sure the

:22:14. > :22:17.Australians and Italians will be getting very excited, especially the

:22:18. > :22:22.Italians! But let's go back to yesterday. We spoke to the men's

:22:23. > :22:27.coxless four a few moments ago and we will hear from a couple of ladies

:22:28. > :22:33.who have their gold medals because yesterday, the first race produced

:22:34. > :22:36.the first gold medal. It has been two years since they started and

:22:37. > :22:40.finished a major global events together, then it was the Olympics

:22:41. > :22:45.and today it is the World Championships and for Great Britain,

:22:46. > :22:49.the fairy tale continues, Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in lane

:22:50. > :22:55.four macro. The British crew dominating the opening early stages.

:22:56. > :23:00.This is the strength, this is where they can move on. Plenty of

:23:01. > :23:05.confidence, all going to plan. Great Britain in control, coming up to the

:23:06. > :23:10.line, an incredible journey, a wonderful partnership and a story

:23:11. > :23:17.that is far from finished as Helen Glover and Heather Stanning become

:23:18. > :23:24.world champions. And here are Helen and Heather. We have I'm sure many

:23:25. > :23:25.Australians and Italians watching and the Italians got the silver

:23:26. > :23:30.medal by that in that last and the Italians got the silver

:23:31. > :23:36.yesterday you were miles clear. How do you feel today? It is kind of

:23:37. > :23:40.surreal, it is the first day of the year when you wake up and you are

:23:41. > :23:43.not thinking about the big event. The last few weeks you have

:23:44. > :23:48.sleepless nights and it is the first thing on your mind. The last thing

:23:49. > :23:56.Heather said before we went to bed last night, let's hope it wasn't a

:23:57. > :24:02.dream! It was a great day. Did you sleep all right or were you reliving

:24:03. > :24:09.the race? I slept terribly! I think the emotions of the last few weeks,

:24:10. > :24:13.I thought I would sleep well but no, it is running through your mind

:24:14. > :24:20.again. But you wake up and you don't have to worry about it! It is always

:24:21. > :24:21.interesting about sleep patterns, a serious conversation, you are

:24:22. > :24:24.thinking you have got to serious conversation, you are

:24:25. > :24:35.more you say that to yourself, the more you cost and turn. Do you sleep

:24:36. > :24:38.well? -- toss and turn. It is the sleep coming into the competition

:24:39. > :24:42.which is important, it is the same with eating, people find it

:24:43. > :24:48.difficult, I always try to make sure that the week before I have had a

:24:49. > :24:51.good backlog of eating and sleeping so it does not matter so much in the

:24:52. > :24:56.few days before, you are still prepared. It is like the morning

:24:57. > :25:03.after a wedding, do you feel different waking up the first time

:25:04. > :25:10.the morning after? No, I don't feel any different apart from very tired!

:25:11. > :25:17.But yes, a world champion, trillion. Helen is world, Olympic and European

:25:18. > :25:22.champion and hold all three heckled. -- world champion.

:25:23. > :25:31.I realised I was still wearing my medal walking through the park

:25:32. > :25:37.yesterday! It is interesting, part of you thinks, if you have got it,

:25:38. > :25:43.flaunt it! We try to keep a bit available profile. When people are

:25:44. > :25:48.still racing, I think it is hard to get up, people are hung over at

:25:49. > :25:52.breakfast or relaxing and they have the biggest race of the year so we

:25:53. > :25:57.try to keep a low profile for the sake of our team-mates. You do get

:25:58. > :26:03.is a great or are you spares for the eight? We went out with our families

:26:04. > :26:12.and had one glass of champagne but that was enough! Positive for the

:26:13. > :26:15.eight? Yes, they have some good miles in their legs and they have

:26:16. > :26:19.had some good performances so fingers crossed. And what is the

:26:20. > :26:24.feeling in the women's squad in general? Up and down, we are in the

:26:25. > :26:31.middle of the Olympiad and people are conscious of that but we are on

:26:32. > :26:39.the upward slope I hope. Up and down but generally positive. I am sure

:26:40. > :26:43.you will be cautious in what you say, but there is no British

:26:44. > :26:48.representation in the finals of the women's singles sculls, double

:26:49. > :26:52.sculls and quad, for the first time this century. What does that do for

:26:53. > :26:58.the feeling in the team, is there much debate about it? We are quite

:26:59. > :27:02.realistic and it is important at this time not to sugarcoat it. It is

:27:03. > :27:09.not good for us. We want to have people representing in finals and on

:27:10. > :27:16.podiums. At the same time, it is early in the Olympiad so there is

:27:17. > :27:20.loads of potential to represent strongly. I hope we go away to next

:27:21. > :27:26.season and think as a whole squad what we can all do to make it

:27:27. > :27:31.happen. Other countries are storming those events and are incredibly

:27:32. > :27:35.strong, as women's rowing is across the board. We have to do something

:27:36. > :27:39.and we have a great programme written by our coaches and trusting

:27:40. > :27:48.in that is the main thing, that will ring us through stronger and

:27:49. > :27:50.stronger. A final question, we were talking to bond and Murray

:27:51. > :27:55.yesterday, they were saying that with every race they win, the

:27:56. > :28:02.pressure is greater and greater, self propelled pressure. With the

:28:03. > :28:09.record you have had, how conscious are you of that, that pressure will

:28:10. > :28:13.mount on you to set the bar higher? A little bit, you think back to four

:28:14. > :28:18.years ago and the pressure we had, we wanted to get a medal but now, we

:28:19. > :28:23.have got the medals and the titles and we have to hold onto them. It is

:28:24. > :28:29.a nice pressure but it is almost what you put on yourself which is

:28:30. > :28:35.worse. You have to think, what can I do to keep myself better than

:28:36. > :28:41.everybody else? Can we make ourselves better more often? And you

:28:42. > :28:46.would rather be the person people are shooting at rather than catching

:28:47. > :28:52.up? Definitely, you can do it more on your own terms and you can choose

:28:53. > :28:55.how to pace the race and take those steps forward so it is a privileged

:28:56. > :29:01.position but we do not take it for granted. The more races you go

:29:02. > :29:06.unbeaten, the more it is in your mind, when will that race come? It

:29:07. > :29:15.will not be this year, that is for sure! Have a great holiday. You can

:29:16. > :29:21.go back to sleeping and then training afterwards again. We will

:29:22. > :29:26.make the most of it! Let's get back to the course.

:29:27. > :29:41.COMMENTATOR: This is the women's double sculls, the USA in lane one,

:29:42. > :29:46.Lithuania in lane two, : In lane three, Australia in lane four, China

:29:47. > :29:56.in lane five and New Zealand in lane six. -- Poland in lane three.

:29:57. > :30:03.Interesting that New Zealand in lane six are slightly down. They were the

:30:04. > :30:09.winners in Lucerne six weeks ago but they were trailing through 1500

:30:10. > :30:13.metres and then unleashed a major push in the last 500 to take the

:30:14. > :30:22.gold medal. It does not look like they have learned from that in this

:30:23. > :30:30.regatta. Australia in lane four, picking it up in this mid part of

:30:31. > :30:37.the second quarter of this final. There is a reason New Zealand are in

:30:38. > :30:46.Lane 6. They came third in their semifinal. I still think it is

:30:47. > :30:50.better to be on the side of the course than the Lithuanians in Lane

:30:51. > :30:54.2 other were champions will stop it is no suppose they have led out but

:30:55. > :30:58.they have been reeled in an now taken over by ailing buyer

:30:59. > :31:05.Australia, who won the semifinal, broke the

:31:06. > :31:12.the Lithuanians are not going to allow either of the crews to go.

:31:13. > :31:18.Lithuania in amongst it. Not too bad there. Going to need a very big

:31:19. > :31:25.second thousand, which we are fast approaching. The final of the

:31:26. > :31:29.women's heavyweight double sculls, Australia by just over Clearwater

:31:30. > :31:35.over Poland in Lane 3, Lithuania in two, Lithuania the world champions.

:31:36. > :31:38.We saw the wobble of the Australian boat, a little bit of wind again

:31:39. > :31:43.coming over, but again as these crews progressed down the course,

:31:44. > :31:48.the what is getting a lot more choppy, so a little bit more to

:31:49. > :31:53.content with fear. Australia remaining high -- the contender with

:31:54. > :31:56.here. They have just done a push to take them through the thousand

:31:57. > :31:59.metres and then they will settle again. The Australians are in the

:32:00. > :32:08.position where, if they push hard here from 1000 two to 1300 1400, the

:32:09. > :32:12.other crews, the Lithuanians, the polls and the New Zealanders, who

:32:13. > :32:15.are not out of it either, will start racing for silver, thinking the

:32:16. > :32:19.Australians have go. As long as the Australian start pushing in the

:32:20. > :32:26.third quarter, don't give the other crews a sniff, then they can sit

:32:27. > :32:37.back and enjoy the crowd in the last 500. But I still think the Kiwis

:32:38. > :32:46.will come back. Olympia Aldersey in the bow seat. Doing a pretty good

:32:47. > :32:55.job, backing up the 28-year-old, Sally Kehoe, in the stroke. This is

:32:56. > :33:00.Poland. Closest to us, hunting them down in the third quarter, New

:33:01. > :33:08.Zealand, Fiona Bourke and Zoe Stevenson, Zoe Stevenson, 23 years

:33:09. > :33:14.of age, and we know they have a very strong second thousand metres and a

:33:15. > :33:17.particularly strong last 500. Clearwater at the halfway mark for

:33:18. > :33:20.Australia. Poland have just drawn back. They have an overlap here so

:33:21. > :33:28.we are now in the danger zone for Olympia Aldersey and Sally Kehoe,

:33:29. > :33:32.who have led this from the start. They are under pressure on the

:33:33. > :33:39.right. Poland will come at them, on the left in Lane 6, New Zealand will

:33:40. > :33:44.surely come back strong. Yes, I think Olympia Aldersey in the bow

:33:45. > :33:48.seat is looking very tense. She is not finishing, and the New

:33:49. > :33:52.Zealanders are coming back strong in Lane 6, and the Poles as well.

:33:53. > :33:55.Australia may be the world record holders, they will may have won the

:33:56. > :34:00.semifinal but they will not have it all their way in the last 300

:34:01. > :34:05.metres. The Poles have got a sniff and the Kiwis are rampaging in Lane

:34:06. > :34:10.6. I like the Kiwis, long and loose, still composed. They are holding the

:34:11. > :34:15.length. Australia now have shortened up, and that is dangerous here

:34:16. > :34:20.because both New Zealand and also Poland have gone through them, and

:34:21. > :34:24.here come New Zealand here! Fiona Bourke and Zoe Stevenson in lane

:34:25. > :34:28.number six, opening up to half a length here, but there are still

:34:29. > :34:33.about 15, 16 strokes up to the line. Now coming up to the hundred, it is

:34:34. > :34:37.New Zealand, but still Poland pushing on hard here. It is not over

:34:38. > :34:41.by any means. Australia have just got their heads down, hanging on for

:34:42. > :34:47.the bronze medal. Poland is still pushing hard, but the well champions

:34:48. > :34:52.here in Amsterdam 2014, New Zealand, sneaking in there, Lane 6, what a

:34:53. > :34:57.victory for them. Poland getting the silver, and heads go right down from

:34:58. > :35:01.Australia's Olympia Aldersey and Sally Kehoe, who led to the 1500

:35:02. > :35:08.metre mark, but when the pressure came on, they folded. I think they

:35:09. > :35:14.will reseed the lanes now come you can't be winning from Lane 6 like

:35:15. > :35:19.that. We will wait to see what happens with the international

:35:20. > :35:20.governing body, as New Zealand rightly celebrate. Powered back in

:35:21. > :35:32.that last 500 metres. And that is the best vantage point

:35:33. > :35:38.you can possibly have, because you have the alcohol and the food here,

:35:39. > :35:41.but that is not too bad compared to this. I didn't know if one of the

:35:42. > :35:44.cameramen can look at the flags over there. They are actually going all

:35:45. > :35:47.over the place, and that is the problem, they are not straight out

:35:48. > :35:52.in any direction. One moment they are going one way, then the other,

:35:53. > :35:58.and then around in circles. Would you back up what James were saying

:35:59. > :36:02.about having to reseed the races? The whole point of the seeded lanes

:36:03. > :36:05.of the fastest would go in the middle lanes. You would expect that

:36:06. > :36:09.would be where the medals will come from. When somebody from an outside

:36:10. > :36:13.lane wins a world title, it is unusual but not unheard of. If there

:36:14. > :36:17.is a consistent wind, they will redraw the lanes, because it makes

:36:18. > :36:21.sense. If it is changing constantly, which direction do you

:36:22. > :36:26.change it to? If every crew start winning in Lane 6, you have to

:36:27. > :36:30.change it, otherwise it is tricky. I am sure over the last couple of

:36:31. > :36:34.years, your mind has changed constantly, whether you are going to

:36:35. > :36:38.resume your rowing career. Your burgeoning media career is heading

:36:39. > :36:41.for the stars, obviously, but standing here talking about it can

:36:42. > :36:45.never replicate the buzz of being out on the water, and I'm sure you

:36:46. > :36:49.felt that yesterday, and today, standing here. So are you edging

:36:50. > :36:54.towards making a decision now, and are you edging towards getting back

:36:55. > :36:59.in the boat? I am definitely edging towards making a decision, and being

:37:00. > :37:02.pushed firmly in the back as well. The athletes get a three-week break,

:37:03. > :37:07.and the season starts in the third week of September. The team managers

:37:08. > :37:12.have always said that two years is unusual, but axe at all, as

:37:13. > :37:20.time-out. However, you need at least a two-year lead in for the link

:37:21. > :37:26.against -- but acceptable. So by the third week of September, I am either

:37:27. > :37:35.in the boat or not -- lead in for the Olympic Games. Are they saying

:37:36. > :37:39.they need you to be back in the team? It is very flattering but very

:37:40. > :37:44.unrealistic. One person going into that field and change it to be an

:37:45. > :37:50.overnight success. The last time we did not make an a final in the

:37:51. > :37:55.sculling event was 2009, so we have had over a decade of success in

:37:56. > :38:00.sculling in the British team. It is disappointing for the athletes, and

:38:01. > :38:05.all the support staff. Nobody has set back and P. People are working

:38:06. > :38:09.very hard, it is just medals are tough out there. I suppose in a

:38:10. > :38:12.Paxman way, I could ask you the same question 13 times and you will not

:38:13. > :38:16.answer it, but had you made the decision in your own mind, it is

:38:17. > :38:21.just a question of when you are going to tell us? Yes, I thought I

:38:22. > :38:26.made the decision a number of times over the past few years, and I have

:38:27. > :38:28.changed again. Something happens, you try something, someone says

:38:29. > :38:34.something, the conversation June have, the places you go. My mind has

:38:35. > :38:39.changed quite a lot over two years. -- the conversations you have.

:38:40. > :38:45.Recently I have become more at least with -- at ease with a decision. We

:38:46. > :38:49.will know in three weeks time. Let's move on to the race coming up now

:38:50. > :38:55.which may offer Britain's our best chance of a gold medal today because

:38:56. > :38:58.this is the men's lightweight four. I think last year, there was

:38:59. > :39:05.probably less pressure on us to be in that middle zone to win. It felt

:39:06. > :39:11.more like a project that we had to work at pretty hard. To end up

:39:12. > :39:14.coming away with a medal was really actually a great feeling, like we

:39:15. > :39:16.were pretty pleased with bronze for stock this year it is a lot

:39:17. > :39:22.different because obviously there are three of us from the 2012 boat.

:39:23. > :39:29.And we expect more of ourselves because we have that experience in

:39:30. > :39:34.the event. That creates its own pressure. We have definitely felt

:39:35. > :39:38.that a bit more this year. COMMENTATOR: New Zealand gold,

:39:39. > :39:42.Denmark the world champions, silver, and Great Britain coming in bronze

:39:43. > :39:46.medal position and they will be disappointed. It has been a tough

:39:47. > :39:51.season so far, but a learning experience. We are the four best

:39:52. > :39:58.guys in there. Even quicker than 2012. There has been one dominant

:39:59. > :40:08.crew, can you break their dominance? Allen the Kiwis are not invincible.

:40:09. > :40:11.But in the next two years we would have done enough to beat them.

:40:12. > :40:16.Looking at the speed of the other crews, how far ahead they have been,

:40:17. > :40:21.we are going to need to do our ten out of ten performance. Do I think

:40:22. > :40:27.that is good enough to win? I really hope so. What will you be happy with

:40:28. > :40:31.on a performance level going away with from the championship?

:40:32. > :40:38.Honestly, nothing but a win. That's good to hear. That is all we do the

:40:39. > :40:42.training for. It will be great to beat the Danes, but not good enough

:40:43. > :40:46.because we have not beaten the Kiwis. You don't do all of this

:40:47. > :40:51.training to come second and third, you do it to win. We are under no

:40:52. > :41:00.illusions how difficult it is going to be. But it can be done. The sun

:41:01. > :41:04.beats down and it is a warm sun, a very bizarre weather day. On the

:41:05. > :41:06.other side, Gary and James. Talk to us about the men's lightweight

:41:07. > :41:14.form, why it is such a competitive race. Why are they invariably

:41:15. > :41:17.decided by the tiniest of margins? First of all, they all away in the

:41:18. > :41:21.same weight, so there is a level playing field on that side and that

:41:22. > :41:26.makes it difficult. They do the same amount of training, but the main

:41:27. > :41:36.thing really is the side of things. A level playing field, they weigh in

:41:37. > :41:39.two hours beforehand. You are right with the weight thing, but unlike

:41:40. > :41:47.the heavyweight men where there is a pair, a four, and eight, those only

:41:48. > :41:51.the men's four. So the best athletes are in it. It will be a good race

:41:52. > :41:57.for the British, because they have the Kiwis, who have been the

:41:58. > :42:00.outstanding team and the Danes, who broke the world record in the

:42:01. > :42:05.semifinal, a couple of lanes on the inside. To be honest, if I was

:42:06. > :42:09.choosing lanes now, I would choose Lane 5 or six. They are in the right

:42:10. > :42:14.position, unfortunately the Kiwis have got Lane 6. You

:42:15. > :42:15.position, unfortunately the Kiwis James went no, but having two

:42:16. > :42:19.brothers in a boat out of four, so James went no, but having two

:42:20. > :42:24.basically half the boat from one family, how do you think that

:42:25. > :42:27.basically half the boat from one affects the dynamic within that

:42:28. > :42:32.quartet? My first Olympics I was in a boat with two sisters. It is

:42:33. > :42:40.brilliant. The Chambers Brothers are the same. Two members of a family,

:42:41. > :42:45.very passionate, driven and competitive, as every athlete is in

:42:46. > :42:47.this level. Then that same level of funding, yet they are the only

:42:48. > :42:53.people who can really have a go at each other and there will never be

:42:54. > :43:00.any grudge. They can say things to each other that no one else can. It

:43:01. > :43:01.can get quite feisty though. This is Britain's best chance of a medal

:43:02. > :43:12.today. Will it be a gold? COMMENTATOR: Waiting for the green

:43:13. > :43:17.light, the final of the men's light four underway. Netherlands in one,

:43:18. > :43:25.Australia two, Denmark in Lane 3, the well champions. France in Lane

:43:26. > :43:29.4. Mark Aldred, Peter Chambers, Richard Chambers, and Chris Bartley

:43:30. > :43:34.in the stroke seat in Lane 5. New Zealand in Lane 6. Great conditions

:43:35. > :43:38.here for the British to monopolise on the first 500. They have got to

:43:39. > :43:42.get out quick because they know that the tailwind, the Cross tail, will

:43:43. > :43:46.benefit them as they get further down the course. Already now, it is

:43:47. > :43:51.Great Britain just easing out but taking with them Denmark. Yes,

:43:52. > :43:55.Denmark are the form crew of the season but they are also the form

:43:56. > :44:04.crew of the last decade. When I used to race them in the Sydney Olympics,

:44:05. > :44:10.they are like a relentless wasp. They are going to go like the

:44:11. > :44:15.clappers from the start and not give an inch and the line. So you know

:44:16. > :44:18.you have to earn your victory against them. The Kiwis have not

:44:19. > :44:27.been in good form in this regatta, but they are in the final and next

:44:28. > :44:30.to the British. Britain are level pegging with Denmark and have given

:44:31. > :44:36.themselves every chance of getting on the right side of the podium.

:44:37. > :44:40.Approaching the first timing mark, a quarter of the race down. A crew

:44:41. > :44:45.average of 70 kilograms sure there is not a lot in it. All six boats

:44:46. > :44:50.well and truly out into the race. Nice, tight spread across there, and

:44:51. > :44:54.we are looking for the bows of lane number five, Great Britain, as we

:44:55. > :44:57.move into the second quarter. We are now moving into the transitional

:44:58. > :45:02.start, the full sprint. The legs will be starting to burn a bit here.

:45:03. > :45:06.Just a look to the right from Mark Aldred, just checking positions.

:45:07. > :45:09.Around the 600-metre mark would be the first big push, if any crew is

:45:10. > :45:15.going to start to move here, but this crew, Denmark, the well

:45:16. > :45:18.champions, they get up, they hit 39, and they will hit 39 the whole way

:45:19. > :45:23.through the courts until the last 300 out, and then sprint it up. That

:45:24. > :45:27.is how impressive they are, their boat speed. Great Britain in the

:45:28. > :45:35.middle of the picture, closest to us, and the All Blacks of New

:45:36. > :45:39.Zealand. A good race. Denmark, Britain and New Zealand are all in a

:45:40. > :45:44.line, so this is a great race to watch. It might be slightly painful

:45:45. > :45:47.to be in but a great race to watch. The British crew, they'll nice and

:45:48. > :45:53.relaxed. You can see the relaxation in their shoulders. They are not put

:45:54. > :45:57.to the floor yet, they have a bit of gas to put down in the second half.

:45:58. > :46:01.The good news is with the wind following them the second half will

:46:02. > :46:07.not be as long as it normally is. Nothing in it crossing the line,

:46:08. > :46:14.1000 down, 1000 to go, the final of the men's lightweight coxless four

:46:15. > :46:21.now. The bows of Hunter, Bond, Taylor and Curtis Rapley from New

:46:22. > :46:26.Zealand edging out in Lane 6. In Lane 3, Denmark, the well champions,

:46:27. > :46:41.stroked by the 29-year-old more to new audience and, one-time Olympic

:46:42. > :46:44.champion -- Morton yours and -- Morton Joergensen. Hard to call at

:46:45. > :46:49.this stage whether gold medal is going to. All three boats looking

:46:50. > :46:53.very impressive. Look how long they are. Getting right out onto it.

:46:54. > :46:58.Picking the boats up here very efficient. The British boys are in

:46:59. > :47:03.thing over and New Zealand quite a lot. I think they feel the challenge

:47:04. > :47:06.is coming from New Zealand. Denmark if they were going really well with

:47:07. > :47:11.the further ahead at this point. But they look nice and relaxed. I think

:47:12. > :47:16.the Kiwis know they have a nice lane, they are in the final. They

:47:17. > :47:24.are a long way from Denmark. They have a chance to catch other people

:47:25. > :47:28.napping. The Brits are dropping back slightly on the Kiwis and the Danes.

:47:29. > :47:33.So they need to stop that and start earning it the other way. But they

:47:34. > :47:38.can turn, they have got two men in the stern, Chris Bartley and Richard

:47:39. > :47:43.Chambers, former world champions in this event in 2010. They will know

:47:44. > :47:47.what it takes, and it is going to need a very, very big finish here,

:47:48. > :47:51.because we are through the 1500 metres in the final of the men's

:47:52. > :47:56.lightweight coxless four. As expected, Denmark, Great Britain and

:47:57. > :48:03.New Zealand fighting it out now for the gold medal. The Danes are racing

:48:04. > :48:08.well. I genuinely would not choose their lane, especially in a race

:48:09. > :48:11.with such tight margins. The Kiwis are making the most of a poor

:48:12. > :48:18.regatta, and it is going to be tough to take the Danes now, though.

:48:19. > :48:23.Morten Joergensen takes them back. Always impressive. 42 strokes per

:48:24. > :48:27.minute and they are 200 metres out from the line, they are picking up

:48:28. > :48:30.the boat and just moving it forward every stroke. New Zealand now coming

:48:31. > :48:34.under pressure from Great Britain, who themselves are coming under

:48:35. > :48:39.pressure in Lane 4 from France. What a sprint for the line! The Kiwis

:48:40. > :48:42.have laid it on a run for the middle of the case. The Danes are like

:48:43. > :48:49.relentless wasps, they have just kept buzzing along at 40. Come on

:48:50. > :48:54.Britain, get on that podium, you can take New Zealand. Denmark taking it

:48:55. > :48:58.out, write to the line, New Zealand are going to get the silver medal,

:48:59. > :49:02.and Great Britain hanging on the bronze. Code for Denmark, silver for

:49:03. > :49:08.New Zealand, and it will be bronze for Great Britain. Their heads go

:49:09. > :49:13.down, but what a result. They held off such a powerful sprint from the

:49:14. > :49:17.French in Lane 4. But Denmark, we salute them, James, because they

:49:18. > :49:23.know how to race this event here. They don't get flustered, they hit

:49:24. > :49:28.it in the middle thousands and rise up in the last quarter. The Danes

:49:29. > :49:38.are tough guys, they train hard. A lot of their training is based on

:49:39. > :49:43.how far they can go in an hour, so they do 35, 36 strokes a minute for

:49:44. > :49:46.an hour. A six minute race to them is nothing, that is why they are

:49:47. > :49:52.foot to the floor from stroke one. As much as I want to see the Brits

:49:53. > :49:55.win, I respect the way they train, prepare and race. Great Britain

:49:56. > :50:00.finished third at Lucerne and the last World Cup regatta, a bronze

:50:01. > :50:04.here is on par for where they were throughout 2014, but it gives them

:50:05. > :50:07.plenty to go away with. They will be disappointed on reflection, because

:50:08. > :50:12.they were right in amongst it into the last quarter, going into the

:50:13. > :50:16.last 500 metres. It gives them everything to take away, but such a

:50:17. > :50:21.tight race in this event, as we were talking about before. It is, and

:50:22. > :50:25.with the following win, regardless of whether one lane is favoured or

:50:26. > :50:29.not, it is more the fact that it is a following wind that just closes it

:50:30. > :50:33.all up. They always the same before the start, they all do the same

:50:34. > :50:37.training and it is very close. It basically comes down to which crew

:50:38. > :50:43.is prepared to put their hand in the fire for that bit longer and the

:50:44. > :50:46.Danes did that from the start. A very tight race, and France will be

:50:47. > :50:51.bitterly disappointed in their fourth place.

:50:52. > :51:00.There are no certainties in any sport, but there is a certainty in

:51:01. > :51:04.rowing that at the end of the men's lightweight four, everyone will be

:51:05. > :51:07.banned jacks. Gary Medel point that they will be disappointed but one

:51:08. > :51:10.stroke further on and they would have gone home empty-handed, so I

:51:11. > :51:16.suppose on reflection they will be quite glad to be on that podium. If

:51:17. > :51:25.I know them well, I would say they probably aren't. I think second to

:51:26. > :51:29.the Danes, they said in the video they... Anything less than gold

:51:30. > :51:33.would be a disappointment. Second to the Danes is a bitter pill, but you

:51:34. > :51:36.respect. They are an absolutely world-class crew, they broke the

:51:37. > :51:40.world record this week. The Danes really have an amazing reputation in

:51:41. > :51:43.this event. So to come second to them is something to be very proud

:51:44. > :51:47.of. To come behind the Kiwis who they have beaten early on this week

:51:48. > :51:51.is tough. They won't be happy with third place, and if France had

:51:52. > :51:55.finished them off and they had come forth, they would still be

:51:56. > :52:00.disappointed either way, to be honest. What did that race tell us

:52:01. > :52:04.again about the lane draws here? Because New Zealand looked like they

:52:05. > :52:09.were going to win it, win two consecutive races from Lane 6. If

:52:10. > :52:12.they were about to win it again from Lane 6, then they would have been

:52:13. > :52:19.forced to make a decision, the organisers. But would be far too

:52:20. > :52:23.late? Two medals already given. But again at the start of the week, the

:52:24. > :52:26.Kiwis are one of the favourites. They are one of the world-class

:52:27. > :52:29.crews in this event, so it is not a massive surprise to see them on the

:52:30. > :52:34.podium. Seeing them win here would have been a surprise. Right at the

:52:35. > :52:37.closing stages of that race, the British crew were ahead of the

:52:38. > :52:40.French, but they could see out of the corners of their eye how close,

:52:41. > :52:44.and that with every single stroke they were getting closer and closer

:52:45. > :52:49.and closer. What is the key thing, when you are the boat in front, to

:52:50. > :52:54.not do in that situation? Panic. The most natural thing... Because what

:52:55. > :52:58.they have just experienced is, they were fighting for the gold. They

:52:59. > :53:01.said they were going out there to try and beat the Danes, that was the

:53:02. > :53:04.whole point of their race. They knew they would not beat the Danes buy at

:53:05. > :53:11.some point in that race. They then had to fight with the Kiwis for the

:53:12. > :53:15.silver medal. Suddenly their bronze is under threat from a crew closing

:53:16. > :53:18.faster than you are, and the first thing you will do is panic, because

:53:19. > :53:22.suddenly that race has gone and this race has come on you. The panic, the

:53:23. > :53:28.tension, the stress, means you wrote badly. Simple, we have done it, I

:53:29. > :53:35.have been. Does that mean you start growing too quickly? You can run out

:53:36. > :53:39.of time, it likes printing, when you see the best sprinters, everyone is

:53:40. > :53:43.long, loose and relaxed. In your sprint finish in rowing, it is the

:53:44. > :53:46.same, it just needs to be free-flowing. And you are doing it

:53:47. > :53:50.time with other people at your maximum limits. So a little bit of

:53:51. > :53:53.tension comes in. You shorten up a little bit. The blades aren't as

:53:54. > :53:58.effective, you are not as efficient and that is how speeds can change.

:53:59. > :54:01.And mentally you are defending. If you are the attacking crew feeling

:54:02. > :54:04.the momentum is with you, that is when you see people come right

:54:05. > :54:08.through, because the positive build, when you are closing down a crew,

:54:09. > :54:12.mentally you are invincible, here you come, the big charge, the

:54:13. > :54:15.emotional adrenaline, it makes a big difference. When you are on the

:54:16. > :54:20.receiving end of trying to hold onto that race, it is a tough one. So

:54:21. > :54:25.they did a great job to hold onto the bronze, they are just not happy.

:54:26. > :54:29.They are down at the pontoon, but the men's eight is the finale to

:54:30. > :54:33.this regatta. Coming your way in about an hour's time. First up, the

:54:34. > :54:38.women's eight, and they have had a pretty good year first up.

:54:39. > :54:45.COMMENTATOR: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why the Americans are

:54:46. > :54:49.world champions. I think there are places up for grabs. The Canadians

:54:50. > :54:55.have done a pretty impressive job. They led the Americans out last

:54:56. > :54:58.time. And I think the American line-up coming to Amsterdam will be

:54:59. > :55:03.stronger, but I think the Canadians, you know, they are not unbeatable.

:55:04. > :55:07.The Romanians certainly have always had strong eights, but we seem to be

:55:08. > :55:11.in their ballpark. So those low medals will be up for anyone. We

:55:12. > :55:15.have got a new coach, a new line-up, we have people coming in and out and

:55:16. > :55:21.it has just been about really finding those little 1% things,

:55:22. > :55:26.rather than looking the big changes, it is building up the smaller

:55:27. > :55:29.changes. How difficult has it been adjusting from maintaining the

:55:30. > :55:36.seedless per to then joining the eight? Yes, I'm not going to lie, it

:55:37. > :55:39.was quite difficult. Any pressure, if you have a goal, not just

:55:40. > :55:44.athletes, and you don't achieve it, it is difficult. It is important to

:55:45. > :55:49.recognise that. Rowing with other girls who want the same thing must

:55:50. > :55:52.be helping? Absolutely, they are great. They have so much life and

:55:53. > :55:59.energy in them. And so much ambition. The eight has been on the

:56:00. > :56:04.podium every civil time it has raced this year. The energy and the

:56:05. > :56:09.momentum we are carrying on to the world 's -- every single time, it is

:56:10. > :56:13.in the air. The silver medal going to remain you buy two or three feet.

:56:14. > :56:18.Great Britain will be disappointed with the bronze medal. It is always

:56:19. > :56:26.a bit better sweet but sometimes it is not too bad to be beaten by 0.2

:56:27. > :56:29.of a second. Having that in the back of your head when you are owing

:56:30. > :56:32.around doing miles and miles and miles. I have been in the eighth for

:56:33. > :56:37.a long time now, since the thousand five, so I know the feel, I know the

:56:38. > :56:40.event, and I know how a vote should feel going into the World

:56:41. > :56:45.Championships, and this is fast. We have some fast speed. We want to be

:56:46. > :56:48.pushing up there with the big dogs. We want to be big dogs. We don't

:56:49. > :56:54.want people to think they can bring us down because they can't. The way

:56:55. > :56:57.we are raining at the moment, -- rowing at the moment, if we are not

:56:58. > :56:59.on the podium, I will be incredible disappointed, and everyone else will

:57:00. > :57:15.be as well. So the women's eight, what chance do

:57:16. > :57:18.they have? They have made a podium in all of the competitions this

:57:19. > :57:24.year. The expectation would be the podium here. On results, USA put

:57:25. > :57:26.themselves way out in front. Canada is close, the closest, and they have

:57:27. > :57:33.put themselves away from the pack, as well. And we hoped and expected

:57:34. > :57:38.Great Britain to come into that third medal, bronze place. However,

:57:39. > :57:43.in the repechage, Great Britain did not have a great row and came behind

:57:44. > :57:47.Romania. At the moment, Romania are favoured for the bronze. China put

:57:48. > :57:52.in a very good repechage as well, so there will be a race to get onto the

:57:53. > :57:56.podium. That race is coming up in a couple of moments time, but the

:57:57. > :58:00.lightweight four are just arriving, in dribs and drabs. It is one of

:58:01. > :58:03.these things, Catherine and I have been talking about the race, saying

:58:04. > :58:07.you could almost have had nothing, but you so badly wanted the gold, so

:58:08. > :58:12.where does that leave you? I just said to the guys, it is better to

:58:13. > :58:17.have tried and failed than not to have tried at all. We knew that we

:58:18. > :58:22.would grab it by the balls and go for it, and we did that. We came

:58:23. > :58:26.unstuck in the last 250 but I would rather have that. We spoke to James

:58:27. > :58:32.Cracknell couple of weeks ago, and he was saying second is the same as

:58:33. > :58:36.sixth, and that is what we kept saying, second is the same as six.

:58:37. > :58:40.All we wanted to do was to win, and we went for the win and came out

:58:41. > :58:44.with the bronze. It is disappointing but we can hold our heads high. At

:58:45. > :58:49.the halfway point, it was nip and tuck between three of you, what were

:58:50. > :58:53.you thinking at that point? I was vaguely aware of where we were. I

:58:54. > :58:57.think the idea was to go out hard and try and hang on, and we got the

:58:58. > :59:01.getting it hard right. We did not manage to quite hang on in the

:59:02. > :59:05.second half. As Richard said, we went out to win gold. We gave that a

:59:06. > :59:07.good shot. It is a slight disappointment but I think we can be

:59:08. > :59:13.proud of that performance. Absolutely. The last 100 metres or

:59:14. > :59:18.so, you must have seen the French coming like a steam train. The

:59:19. > :59:24.danger then is used at shortening or losing the rhythm, what was the body

:59:25. > :59:27.language, if you like, on the boat? I wasn't really thinking about it,

:59:28. > :59:32.to be honest, the whole way down we were just thinking to win, and then

:59:33. > :59:41.became a part in the last 500, but we are good enough to hang on to

:59:42. > :59:46.what we had there. -- we came apart. We could have come out in third and

:59:47. > :59:54.made it a bit safer, but we went for the win and that is what you get.

:59:55. > :59:58.So, looking forward, the Danes are a formidable quartet, let's face it,

:59:59. > :00:00.but looking forward, how do you view what you can do

:00:01. > :00:03.but looking forward, how do you view into an Olympic year? Yes, the Danes

:00:04. > :00:07.definitely are into an Olympic year? Yes, the Danes

:00:08. > :00:07.have wrote together for a lot longer than we have.

:00:08. > :00:12.have wrote together for a lot longer year out last year, had a completely

:00:13. > :00:16.different crew, so it really has been a process of trying to rebuild

:00:17. > :00:20.almost from scratch, trying to make this four as good as it can be and

:00:21. > :00:24.that is the best we could have done out there. Yes, it fell apart at the

:00:25. > :00:30.end, but another couple of years for us to work on that part. A fantastic

:00:31. > :00:35.race to watch and agonising for us at the end, and we're delighted you

:00:36. > :00:38.will be getting a on the podium. The women's eight is underway, let's get

:00:39. > :00:54.down to the start. final of the women's eight, Great

:00:55. > :01:04.Britain in lane 41, Romania in lane two, Canada in lane three, USA in

:01:05. > :01:09.lane four, China in lane five and two, Canada in lane three, USA in

:01:10. > :01:14.Russia in lane six. In the last few years it has all been about the USA.

:01:15. > :01:19.They have dominated at World Cup level, World Championship level and

:01:20. > :01:26.at the Olympic Games but the one thing they have not done in 2013 is

:01:27. > :01:32.break their own world best time. The British are in lane one, Romania are

:01:33. > :01:39.in lane two, Canada in three. The USA just inching out by about a

:01:40. > :01:46.canvas over Canada. You would expect Canada and the US to be the quickest

:01:47. > :01:54.crews, they qualified by rectally from their respective heats. Of the

:01:55. > :02:02.two repechage races, great with this -- Great Britain were the slowest

:02:03. > :02:09.coming in. -- they qualified directly.

:02:10. > :02:22.No surprises so far. In terms of how America dominate, this is not the

:02:23. > :02:27.ideal race condition. They have a long finish and in a tailwind, you

:02:28. > :02:32.want to be up and on the toes onto the next stroke. Some of the other

:02:33. > :02:38.crews might have bit more belief of beating America but it is also tough

:02:39. > :02:43.for them. They have not raced much this season so they are coming in

:02:44. > :02:48.relatively green whereas the others are in form as Canada have shown.

:02:49. > :02:54.This is the one race that counts. I think it will be between the North

:02:55. > :03:02.Americans but China have a fair few to choose from as well! USA and

:03:03. > :03:08.Canada have gone out but there is still a pack for the chasing medal.

:03:09. > :03:14.Rate in Britain -- Great Britain still in that. China in third place

:03:15. > :03:19.have moved back down. Looking at that speed coming towards halfway.

:03:20. > :03:25.This is the final of the women's eight, coming up towards 1000

:03:26. > :03:29.metres, Great Britain well off the pace of the USA as they come through

:03:30. > :03:37.the mark three quarters of a length up on Canada who themselves are up

:03:38. > :03:47.half a length on China. A big call from Katelin Snyder, the cox in the

:03:48. > :03:56.US boat to open it up but they are being pushed hard by Canada. Lesley

:03:57. > :04:01.Thompson-Willie, 53 years of age, she won a medal in Barcelona in 19

:04:02. > :04:10.addictive and here she is, driving the Canadians hard on the heels of

:04:11. > :04:17.America -- in 1992 and here she is. Canada make end up paying slightly

:04:18. > :04:23.for going with America. China are down but they are moving well. They

:04:24. > :04:27.are at the same speed as Canada and they are in with a shout especially

:04:28. > :04:41.as the wind opens up and favours this side. A length in the eight is

:04:42. > :04:44.effectively an ocean. The last few hundred metres, the Chinese have to

:04:45. > :04:49.get everything out to get that silver medal. The Chinese keep their

:04:50. > :04:53.length. We have only seen this boat once this year at Aiguebelette and

:04:54. > :04:59.they finished in fourth place on that occasion. Great Britain have

:05:00. > :05:03.beaten them, they finished in third place on that occasion. It is

:05:04. > :05:10.tailing off for Great Britain coming into this but other crews are moving

:05:11. > :05:17.on. Coming up towards the last timing point, three quarters of the

:05:18. > :05:21.race gone, 500 metres remaining. No surprises here that the American

:05:22. > :05:26.boat has gone off, leading through 500 metres, increasing their lead at

:05:27. > :05:31.halfway and that third 500 has been very strong for them. They have not

:05:32. > :05:38.removed themselves from Canada but this is a big message, almost a

:05:39. > :05:42.length is an impossibility to come back from and the Americans look

:05:43. > :05:47.stronger and stronger as they wrote towards the finish. Great Britain

:05:48. > :05:53.went through in sixth position and there will be huge disappointment

:05:54. > :05:59.for them up in lane one. China in lane five are closest to us, still

:06:00. > :06:07.on the heels of the Canadian boat in lane three. There is a possibility

:06:08. > :06:11.that China will go past Canada. I think the Chinese have left it a bit

:06:12. > :06:16.late but the Americans have been very compact and well drilled, doing

:06:17. > :06:22.a lot of training on their own and not racing much but they are a

:06:23. > :06:27.classy outfit. Heads up high and the competence is high as they come

:06:28. > :06:32.towards the line. -- confidence. World champions again the USA,

:06:33. > :06:38.Silver medal for Canada but look out China came back on them, they take

:06:39. > :06:43.bronze. Remain your take fourth place -- Romania. Great Britain in a

:06:44. > :06:53.very disappointing sixth position. That was extremely disappointing. We

:06:54. > :07:01.knew it would be tough for the bronze medal. Last place in this

:07:02. > :07:08.final was never going to be good enough. Not a complete disaster but

:07:09. > :07:13.as far as results go, it is a huge underperformance. We were talking

:07:14. > :07:20.about this earlier, if the men's crew is strong across the board,

:07:21. > :07:25.there gaps in the setup. If we are honest, Helen and Heather are

:07:26. > :07:30.fantastic, you could not ask for more, gold medal, world record,

:07:31. > :07:34.everything they could have done. The eight came in sixth place, the

:07:35. > :07:42.women's quad came third in the B final, Vicky came second in her B

:07:43. > :07:47.final. It is not the results you would expect from the team. Let's

:07:48. > :07:51.move on to talk about the bigger issues surrounding rowing. If you

:07:52. > :07:56.have watched our coverage over a long period, you will have seen that

:07:57. > :08:02.fundamentally, most of the medals go to a small country of nations so one

:08:03. > :08:07.of the big issues is how to broaden the international base. Where there

:08:08. > :08:11.is a will, there is a way. One of the great problems that rowing has

:08:12. > :08:16.in increasing its global reach is the sheer cost of the sport. What we

:08:17. > :08:19.would regard as a simple rowing scene can cost thousands of pounds

:08:20. > :08:23.to a country in Central Africa and let's face it, they have better

:08:24. > :08:28.things to do with their money so what you need is an affordable

:08:29. > :08:34.rowing machine. Take a look at this. The man whose brainchild this is is

:08:35. > :08:41.Jim Flood from the governing body. This is absolute genius! It is just

:08:42. > :08:47.basic engineering. Assembled by the goal will, simple timber that you

:08:48. > :08:57.can find in Africa countries -- a simple bicycle wheel. And how much

:08:58. > :09:02.would it cost? About $50 if you were paying top prices.

:09:03. > :09:09.would it cost? About $50 if you were rowing machine. In the nation with

:09:10. > :09:15.huge geographical problems, you can have them all over the place rather

:09:16. > :09:21.than in one area? Indeed, and if rowing is going to spread, it had to

:09:22. > :09:27.move to outlying areas. What would be your vision, long-term, for this

:09:28. > :09:34.contraption? Long-term it is to introduce indoor rowing to rowing as

:09:35. > :09:40.a sport, using simple, basic technology like this. They will need

:09:41. > :09:44.the more sophisticated machines to develop further but this is a first

:09:45. > :09:52.step they can keep control of, produce and maintain. You get your

:09:53. > :09:59.local carpenter along, your mechanic and you can get it working. In your

:10:00. > :10:04.mind, ten, 20 years down the road, is there a world champion from

:10:05. > :10:08.Uganda or something? Quite possibly. We were unfortunate that the

:10:09. > :10:12.Ugandans were not able to come here but they were meant to. It is

:10:13. > :10:17.developing there, they are on the point of being competitive. They are

:10:18. > :10:21.certainly hoping to qualify for the Olympics. And in your role with the

:10:22. > :10:28.governing body, this is exactly what you need to do, be pushing the

:10:29. > :10:36.boundaries and increasing appeal. Indeed. The reason is, unless rowing

:10:37. > :10:42.develops more widely, it could well lose firstly the number of places it

:10:43. > :10:45.has in the Olympics and also, it could lose rowing altogether from

:10:46. > :10:53.the Olympics if it is not a widespread sport. So the stakes are

:10:54. > :11:01.high? Very high indeed. And the man who is effectively doubling those

:11:02. > :11:04.stakes is here, the boss of the governing body. A fascinating piece

:11:05. > :11:10.there about broadening the appeal of the sport. Is that part of your

:11:11. > :11:18.mission statement as the new man in charge? Definitely. Development is

:11:19. > :11:22.one of our priorities, it is a key dimension for us. We are in

:11:23. > :11:28.competition with other sports and we do need to grow. We know that being

:11:29. > :11:37.an Olympic sport, it is essential for the sport of rowing.

:11:38. > :11:42.Universality is one of the criteria that the IOC looks at. It is

:11:43. > :11:46.important we do not remain in the historical part of the world but

:11:47. > :11:52.that we can improve and go where rowing is not a historical sport. We

:11:53. > :11:58.believe it is part of our responsibility to develop and to

:11:59. > :12:03.encourage. I am sure you have had many meetings, perhaps over lots of

:12:04. > :12:07.bottles of red wine, and people come up with lots of random ideas and

:12:08. > :12:12.some are stupid and some are good. We were doing it last night. Things

:12:13. > :12:20.like why there are not 500 metre races in World Championships, being

:12:21. > :12:24.dramatic and exciting and vibrant? I think innovation and creativity

:12:25. > :12:30.should be part of this exercise to see how we can improve our sport and

:12:31. > :12:38.actually provide a good product to be attractive. That said, we have

:12:39. > :12:44.some values in terms of sport and we have to make it balance. I think

:12:45. > :12:52.there is room for innovation, we are actually developing as you have just

:12:53. > :12:58.said, in terms of Sprint regattas to promote the sport and be inside the

:12:59. > :13:04.city instead of outside. And to move to that kind of event for the

:13:05. > :13:10.Olympics is another question, we are probably not mature at the time but

:13:11. > :13:15.we need to think 20 years time. All these ideas are on the table. We had

:13:16. > :13:20.so many ideas, floodlit racing and all that, we don't have time to talk

:13:21. > :13:25.about them all! You mentioned the Olympics, Rio is a golden

:13:26. > :13:30.opportunity for rowing to spread its boundaries and there is a fantastic

:13:31. > :13:36.course in a wonderful location. Art you happy with how things are going

:13:37. > :13:40.there? -- are you happy. It will be a fantastic opportunity, in the

:13:41. > :13:49.middle of the city, in the most iconic lake of Brazil and maybe in

:13:50. > :13:54.South America so it is fantastic. We don't have the same issue may be

:13:55. > :14:02.other sports do have because we have the water so we can stage a rowing

:14:03. > :14:08.regatta. Now we can move to I would say less important issue but there

:14:09. > :14:11.is still a lot of work to do but we are confident we can deliver a

:14:12. > :14:15.fantastic Olympic regatta but there is still some work to do. Lovely to

:14:16. > :14:19.meet you, best of luck in your new post. They are racing already in the

:14:20. > :14:32.final of the men's single sculls. COMMENTATOR: Azerbaijan are in lane

:14:33. > :14:35.one, New Zealand in name to win the Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale,

:14:36. > :14:43.Marcel Hacker of Germany in lane three come up Ondrej Synek of Czech

:14:44. > :14:52.Republic in lane four, Lithuania in lane five.

:14:53. > :14:59.Mahe Drysdale the Olympic champion, winner at Lucerne six weeks ago, he

:15:00. > :15:07.actually struggled to win his semifinal, losing it, coming second

:15:08. > :15:11.to Marcel Hacker hence New Zealand are in lane two. But what happened

:15:12. > :15:14.over the last couple of days is irrelevant because we are seeing the

:15:15. > :15:22.race developing in conditions with AIDS cross tailwind -- with a cross

:15:23. > :15:30.tailwind. 32 nations entered this event, the largest entry that the

:15:31. > :15:35.World Championships has ever seen at this level. In terms of the small

:15:36. > :15:40.boats, it is pretty good, in terms of the leaders right now, Ondrej

:15:41. > :15:52.Synek in the Czech Republic boat in lane four just taking on the mantle

:15:53. > :15:52.Synek in the Czech Republic boat in Cuba in lane six. And the worrying

:15:53. > :15:58.thing for the other five men in the race is that Ondrej Synek is really

:15:59. > :16:05.fast in the second half so if he is leading coming up to halfway, he

:16:06. > :16:09.will disappear. I imagine every commentator is saying that I would

:16:10. > :16:12.rather be in lane six Than Lane one, I cannot understand why the

:16:13. > :16:19.governing body does not grab the bull by the horns and change it. For

:16:20. > :16:25.somebody to be robbed of a medal by the governing body bottling the

:16:26. > :16:28.tough choice is disrespectful to the sport. Strong words from James

:16:29. > :16:37.Cracknell but that is what former and current athletes are thinking.

:16:38. > :16:40.The Czech Republic from Cuba and Mahe Drysdale the Olympic champion

:16:41. > :16:46.from New Zealand, he is having to work so much harder just to keep in

:16:47. > :16:52.amongst it. Closest to us, the distinctive style of Angel Fournier

:16:53. > :16:56.Rodriguez of Cuba. He came second last year at the World Championships

:16:57. > :17:02.and just appeared from outside to miss time it without a Sprint as

:17:03. > :17:08.everybody came back. Marcel Hacker almost took the silver medal from

:17:09. > :17:13.him. Distinctive long and flowing style of the Cuban but now Ondrej

:17:14. > :17:20.Synek, the world champion, not much in it between them. He is a battler

:17:21. > :17:25.up there in lane two, Mahe Drysdale, he will have to fight this out. He

:17:26. > :17:30.will, he is the world record holder and the Olympic champion. If anybody

:17:31. > :17:35.can remove the fact that he is not in the best lane from his head, he

:17:36. > :17:40.can, he has never lost to the Cuban before. The chances are he might not

:17:41. > :17:46.lose to him today but that is more the class of Drysdale rather than

:17:47. > :17:49.his lane. Overlaps now between Synek the world

:17:50. > :17:50.his lane. Overlaps now between Synek Olympic champion. We love watching

:17:51. > :18:00.Mahe Drysdale, it is Olympic champion. We love watching

:18:01. > :18:04.come back over Ondrej Synek from the Czech Republic, it is half a length

:18:05. > :18:11.and that is closing on every single stroke. This is where Synek needs to

:18:12. > :18:16.be tough in the head. He had clear water on Drysdale and now has three

:18:17. > :18:23.feet with 500 metres to go. The last 500 metres of the season, the last

:18:24. > :18:27.minute, who can put themselves in the hurt locker more? Drysdale has

:18:28. > :18:33.been in it for a while and he is loving it. This is the event, the

:18:34. > :18:40.self proclaimed gladiators of world rowing, every week, every month,

:18:41. > :18:43.every year, they race each other, they know their individual styles

:18:44. > :18:47.and psychological strengths and weaknesses and the one thing the

:18:48. > :18:53.world knows is that Drysdale never ever gives up and here he is,

:18:54. > :18:58.fighting and battling and he is through. Stroke for stroke but

:18:59. > :19:01.marginally ahead, Drysdale. The New Zealand supporters on the far side

:19:02. > :19:02.marginally ahead, Drysdale. The New have seen that picture and they are

:19:03. > :19:09.on have seen that picture and they are

:19:10. > :19:13.shouting. We have 250 metres to the line. Ondrej Synek from the Czech

:19:14. > :19:20.Republic responding again, looking at them look at each other, seeing

:19:21. > :19:23.who has got one last push. Angel Fournier Rodriguez is in the bronze

:19:24. > :19:28.medal position but this is the fight for the gold medal. If Drysdale gets

:19:29. > :19:33.it it will be the performance of the day from where he was after 1000

:19:34. > :19:40.metres but Synek has been in this position before. Synek responding,

:19:41. > :19:44.the rate goes up, they are sprinting to the line! Today in Amsterdam, the

:19:45. > :19:51.2014 World Championships it will be Ondrej Synek from the Czech Republic

:19:52. > :19:56.and rightly so, he punches the air, that was a magnificent performance

:19:57. > :20:00.from him. It was a brave performance from Mahe Drysdale the Olympic

:20:01. > :20:07.champion. Angel Fournier Rodriguez from Cuba comes through, a solid

:20:08. > :20:12.bronze medal for him. But this event never fails to get the crowd on

:20:13. > :20:17.their feet. That was impressive by two of the worlds best scullers.

:20:18. > :20:28.Synek is the gold medallist and Drysdale settles silver today.

:20:29. > :20:35.We can see the Cuban delighted with his bronze, IDSA Mark White Drysdale

:20:36. > :20:41.will be disappointed with silver but what a great race -- I dare say Mahe

:20:42. > :20:48.Drysdale will be disappointed. Drysdale will be disappointed, but

:20:49. > :20:52.he has had a year out and come back. Ondrej Synek is a fantastic

:20:53. > :20:57.champion. It would be a big ask to come back and win. To lead the race

:20:58. > :21:04.and have that battle is impressive from Drysdale. That was great sport,

:21:05. > :21:10.pure and simple. No British entry with Alan Campbell not taking part.

:21:11. > :21:14.How important is it, it is not the blue ribbon event, that is the men's

:21:15. > :21:19.eight, but there is still something special about the single skull, the

:21:20. > :21:23.fastest individual. How important for Britain to have somebody of

:21:24. > :21:28.quality in that event? You say it is not the blue ribbon and event but

:21:29. > :21:32.for some people it is the ultimate event. You don't have team-mates to

:21:33. > :21:37.rely on or lift you up or challenge you, you are on your own and it is a

:21:38. > :21:45.lonely sport. They are talked about gladiators for that reason. -- as

:21:46. > :21:51.gladiators. We have had years when we did not have anybody in either

:21:52. > :21:56.event, Alan Campbell has obviously taken it on recently. It would be

:21:57. > :22:05.great to see him back racing. It is an event so close to his heart. It

:22:06. > :22:08.is just a great event to watch. From the smallest boat in a few moments

:22:09. > :22:33.to the biggest. Certainly a fast crew. We have more

:22:34. > :22:40.to come. We have got to stick it out there and hang on. Raw speed and raw

:22:41. > :22:48.power, we packing a lot of heat. There is a lot to be excited about.

:22:49. > :22:57.We are not going there to lose. The men's aid is coming up at 1:33pm

:22:58. > :23:01.your time. Until these Sprint races are implemented, every race is 2000

:23:02. > :23:03.metres long but the great thing is, the races are never over until the

:23:04. > :23:13.last centimetre. In towards the home straight, it

:23:14. > :23:19.looks like Ukraine have just moved out a little bit but this race is

:23:20. > :23:24.far from over. Six or seven feet down, that is definitely doable.

:23:25. > :23:29.It's definitely is. Ukraine still look very relaxed, the British crew

:23:30. > :23:37.have not slipped back any more than they were at half weight. They need

:23:38. > :23:42.to move on. Sport is in context and Ukraine as a nation is in all sort

:23:43. > :23:47.of trouble and I imagine this would be some release for the guys as

:23:48. > :23:50.well, to have something else to focus on if only for six minutes. It

:23:51. > :23:59.would been more to them and their supporters at home. -- it would mean

:24:00. > :24:03.more. Now the machine that is Great Britain starts to wind it up because

:24:04. > :24:09.they know they have 200 metres remaining here. They are stroke for

:24:10. > :24:14.stroke, surely Ukraine have done enough. One last push from Great

:24:15. > :24:21.Britain on the far side, the crowd are on their feet! Down to two or

:24:22. > :24:24.three feet. They are going to run it out but they have got to push!

:24:25. > :24:36.Ukraine just holding on. The machine and power of Great Britain was not

:24:37. > :24:41.enough on the day. There I say it, bronze medallist last year, we will

:24:42. > :24:45.celebrate writing history again today in Amsterdam because Great

:24:46. > :24:50.Britain in the men's quadruple skull art world silver medallists.

:24:51. > :25:02.And here is the team who watched that rerun smiling but ruefully. I

:25:03. > :25:06.had not watched until now! I did not realise we were that far down and

:25:07. > :25:11.then came back and came back and just ran out of water it looks like.

:25:12. > :25:18.But a fantastic race. One more stroke? You can say that. But I

:25:19. > :25:21.think we gave it our all and we have to be happy. Sometimes you end up in

:25:22. > :25:28.front, sometimes you are not quite there. It happens. We have great

:25:29. > :25:32.confidence from this race and moving forward I think we are on a good

:25:33. > :25:39.path. As you crossed the line, did you think you had won? Yes, I

:25:40. > :25:45.definitely did, I was looking across to see if it was us or them.

:25:46. > :25:48.Watching it again, it was getting to the point where it was on the surge

:25:49. > :25:55.and who was at what point in their stroke. I did not know and then we

:25:56. > :26:00.found out. I echo what Charles said, when we were interviewed before

:26:01. > :26:04.coming, we would be disappointed with anything other than gold but we

:26:05. > :26:08.wanted to make sure we raced well and I think we would all say we had

:26:09. > :26:13.a good race yesterday but it was just not quite enough. Is there

:26:14. > :26:18.anything you felt you could have done differently to change the

:26:19. > :26:23.result? Not at all really, that was the best race we could have

:26:24. > :26:27.delivered on the day. To be honest, we have been a bit intimidated by

:26:28. > :26:33.fast conditions like that and that was very fast but we dealt with it

:26:34. > :26:39.superbly. You can't ask for more than that. How difficult is it in

:26:40. > :26:43.those conditions? You have got to be so quick, you have to be on it, if

:26:44. > :26:45.you make a mistake early in the stroke there is no time to make up

:26:46. > :26:49.for it, you just have stroke there is no time to make up

:26:50. > :26:58.right next time but quickly you can get into a bad cycle. It was a good

:26:59. > :27:06.race. If conditions can be intimidating, does that mean that

:27:07. > :27:11.Ukraine are less intimidating? All of us without saying it, we would

:27:12. > :27:17.not want it to be like this if we could choose but it is so we get on

:27:18. > :27:20.with it and we are happy afterwards. Maybe we would have wanted a big

:27:21. > :27:26.headwind to make it last longer but we did a good job. It sticks out for

:27:27. > :27:31.all of us, the race at Dorney on home water last year, we totally

:27:32. > :27:35.messed up the final in similar conditions when we were knitting

:27:36. > :27:37.needles all the way down rather than rowing properly full stop it was a

:27:38. > :27:47.much better performance yesterday. If you miss an open goal in football

:27:48. > :27:51.and it is the key moment, you go back in the dressing room and you

:27:52. > :27:57.are screaming and shouting. When you got back to the boathouse yesterday

:27:58. > :28:02.after being so close, in the immediate aftermath, what were you

:28:03. > :28:08.thinking? To be honest, I haven't had that moment to sit down and

:28:09. > :28:14.think about it all yet. It hasn't really kicked in. I am sure there

:28:15. > :28:16.will be times when we will be disappointed but it is hard to be

:28:17. > :28:23.disappointed with such a good race and they saw the medal. In the grand

:28:24. > :28:26.scheme of things, you don't always win medals and make finals, you have

:28:27. > :28:31.to make the most of the moments when you are doing well. It was not quite

:28:32. > :28:36.gold but we have it in us and we have another couple of years in us

:28:37. > :28:41.so just onwards and upwards. I am struggling to be disappointed, just

:28:42. > :28:47.seeing the positive is more than any negatives. The next race has been

:28:48. > :28:52.delayed because of the conditions for an indefinite period so we can

:28:53. > :28:59.keep on talking. You have three weeks off now, what are you going to

:29:00. > :29:03.do? I will stay in Amsterdam with my parents and girlfriend, go back to

:29:04. > :29:08.the UK and then I am going to Cyprus and I am looking forward to it,

:29:09. > :29:15.three weeks of not concentrating on rowing will be fun. I assume you all

:29:16. > :29:19.going on holiday? Yes, I am going to Malaysia, hopefully a bit of diving

:29:20. > :29:24.and surfing, check out the rainforest, see some orangutans and

:29:25. > :29:32.have a bit of adventure. And next? Istanbul for a week and then my wife

:29:33. > :29:36.is going back to work at Oxford University so only a short holiday

:29:37. > :29:46.but we are getting away. I am going to Thailand. Make sure you all come

:29:47. > :29:48.back! Fingers crossed! And perhaps the ultimate holiday destination

:29:49. > :29:52.would be Brazil in a couple of years but we will cross that bridge when

:29:53. > :29:56.we get it. Congratulations on yesterday, a fantastic spectacle and

:29:57. > :29:58.well done and thanks for talking to us. We can head back to the action

:29:59. > :30:10.because they are off and running. We are on the start for the final of

:30:11. > :30:15.the women's single sculls. Notwithstanding the delay, looking

:30:16. > :30:17.at our screens from the Federation, there has been no change in the lane

:30:18. > :30:48.order. throughout the World Cup season --

:30:49. > :30:56.Emma Twigg. What a battle she has had with Kimi Crow. They are under

:30:57. > :31:14.starter 's orders. So it is important really to get out

:31:15. > :31:19.quickly here in the opening stages in the near-perfect conditions. The

:31:20. > :31:26.start as well and truly protected by the trees on either side. Away,

:31:27. > :31:32.Russia in one, Austria in two, New Zealand, Emma Twigg, world

:31:33. > :31:42.silver-medallist, sits in Lane 3. China in four. Australia and

:31:43. > :31:47.Ireland. Closest to us, we can see the early stages, Sin eater,

:31:48. > :31:52.bronze-medallist at the European champ and should earlier this year,

:31:53. > :31:56.the first time Ireland got a senior international medal at a

:31:57. > :32:01.Championships. She is getting the early lead. Perhaps, perhaps,

:32:02. > :32:15.perhaps, this is just wind assisted. Let's focus on the competition as

:32:16. > :32:27.well. In lane number two. Magdalena Lobnig. Jingli Duan was in the world

:32:28. > :32:32.double sculls but never went to the World Championships. She look very

:32:33. > :32:37.relaxed we saw her from behind. And rowing nice and long. Whereas you

:32:38. > :32:40.can see the Austrian may be leading at the moment but she is putting the

:32:41. > :32:46.work in. She has orally come back to the field, I would not expect her to

:32:47. > :32:49.last the full distance, whereas Kimi Crow, her experience of racing, she

:32:50. > :32:54.has come through Ireland and the whole field. She is looking like she

:32:55. > :32:59.is in the right space to defend her title. Very little in it at the

:33:00. > :33:10.first quarter mark. Australia from New Zealand, Austria, China and

:33:11. > :33:14.Ireland. The 41-year-old, Julia Levina in Lane 1. We talk about the

:33:15. > :33:20.second 500 metres where you are coming into your race pace, really

:33:21. > :33:23.into your race rhythm. And we cannot in stress -- cannot stress the

:33:24. > :33:26.importance of length and rhythm. Whatever

:33:27. > :33:28.importance of length and rhythm. around you, if you have the

:33:29. > :33:33.confidence to keep it long, you will keep panic at bay. The very last

:33:34. > :33:39.thing that any of these sculls would want to do as the wind picks up is

:33:40. > :33:44.the start panicking, as the cruise start moving around, jostling for

:33:45. > :34:01.position in the start -- the middle thousand -- as cruise starts to. --

:34:02. > :34:06.crews. You can be quite a long way down and yes, they will come back,

:34:07. > :34:09.as Drysdale showed. You need that relaxation to make sure that every

:34:10. > :34:13.muscle is being utilised all the way through the race, and when it is

:34:14. > :34:16.working, it is working, when it is not working, relax its totally,

:34:17. > :34:22.which is why you need to be efficient. And that is what Twigg

:34:23. > :34:26.and Crow are showing for New Zealand and Australia, respectively. As we

:34:27. > :34:30.come towards the back end of the second quarter, out to the halfway

:34:31. > :34:34.mark. It is looking as though Emma Twigg, 27 years of age from New

:34:35. > :34:39.Zealand, silver-medallist from last year, just having the better of that

:34:40. > :34:45.quarter. Kimi Crow of Australia led to the 500-metre mark and is looking

:34:46. > :34:50.at the thousand metre mark that Emma Twigg from New Zealand is taking it

:34:51. > :34:55.on. By half a length, New Zealand, Australia, Clearwater over China was

:34:56. > :34:59.Mac Jingli Duan, in Lane 4. Ireland and Austria in amongst it there, but

:35:00. > :35:04.out of the medals, and at the moment, and this is a crucial,

:35:05. > :35:07.crucial part here for Kim Crow from Australia, because she has watched

:35:08. > :35:14.Emma Twigg from New Zealand coming up in the 900 to 1,000-metre mark.

:35:15. > :35:17.Emma was really pushing on hard, but it is looking as though Emma Twigg

:35:18. > :35:22.has the more efficient, better boat speed, because there is no pushing.

:35:23. > :35:28.Now, finally, Kim Crow just arts to move on a little bit more. Compare

:35:29. > :35:30.and contrast, Emma Twigg now really loose, flowing rhythm, very fluid in

:35:31. > :35:34.a bidding she loose, flowing rhythm, very fluid in

:35:35. > :35:36.She looks very fluid, but also loose, flowing rhythm, very fluid in

:35:37. > :35:39.you look, she is powering those legs loose, flowing rhythm, very fluid in

:35:40. > :35:43.down as well. She has taken on this middle thousand. Whether she

:35:44. > :35:45.down as well. She has taken on this committed to much and has not got

:35:46. > :35:49.enough for a sprint home, I don't know, but she may well have broken

:35:50. > :35:52.Kim Crow by the time they get to the last quarter. Right now, she is

:35:53. > :35:56.doing everything right. The third quarter of the race is a tough one.

:35:57. > :35:59.If you can make a claim here for the gold medal then you have every

:36:00. > :36:03.chance of holding on in the last five. As soon as there's daylight

:36:04. > :36:10.between the stern of the New Zealand crew and the bow of the Australian,

:36:11. > :36:13.it will be curtains for Kim Crow and that is what Emma Twigg is just

:36:14. > :36:17.working to do, but not having to push all the time. There it is, she

:36:18. > :36:21.has got the Clearwater now, and that, psychologically, is very

:36:22. > :36:25.important. But what Kim Crow has, and she will know, as we approach

:36:26. > :36:29.the last quarter, she will have the favoured lane in her advantage, but

:36:30. > :36:34.surely Emma Twigg is too classy a sculler to allow all of this hard

:36:35. > :36:40.work to be undone? 500 metres remain, the final of the women

:36:41. > :36:44.single sculls here at the 2014 world rowing Championships. Australia's

:36:45. > :36:48.Kim Crow led out of the 500-metre mark, but from there it has been all

:36:49. > :36:51.about Emma Twigg. This middle thousand has been such a confident

:36:52. > :36:55.display of single sculling at the very highest level there. Looking

:36:56. > :37:01.left there from Emma Twigg, just checking on what Kim Crow is doing,

:37:02. > :37:04.and it really has been all about Emma Twigg through 2014, the World

:37:05. > :37:13.Cup, and it is looking like she is going to put a crown on the season

:37:14. > :37:19.here. What an impressive sculling. It is going to be too much here,

:37:20. > :37:23.half a length of clear water. It is, and the real thing that is making it

:37:24. > :37:27.easier for Emma Twigg in this last quarter is that the Chinese girl is

:37:28. > :37:33.too far Heinz Kim Crow, so there is no battle for silver. Kim Crow has

:37:34. > :37:37.silver in the bag, and there is nothing, apart from her mental

:37:38. > :37:41.desire, pushing her on the go. There is no fear of losing silver, just

:37:42. > :37:46.losing gold, and Emma Twigg has put through a tough, tough middle

:37:47. > :37:53.thousand, and has reaped the rewards for that. As the water starts to

:37:54. > :37:56.come up here as the scullers come inside the 500 metres, she will know

:37:57. > :38:02.exactly the distance left in this race. She can look back and see that

:38:03. > :38:04.that clear water is enough. Again, these are pretty good scullers here

:38:05. > :38:09.but Kim Crow will not roll over here, she is starting to push on,

:38:10. > :38:14.using the wind, here she comes, 100 out. Yes, but as much as you can

:38:15. > :38:18.lift your sprint in the single, she has not put enough into the middle

:38:19. > :38:22.thousand. She will now have a good charge to second place but that's

:38:23. > :38:27.it. Coming towards the line, it is go for New Zealand's Emma Twigg.

:38:28. > :38:32.What a World Championships New Zealand are having, Kim Crow getting

:38:33. > :38:38.the silver medal, and China's Jingli Duan in lane for coming through for

:38:39. > :38:39.the bronze medal. That was a pretty classy performance there from Emma

:38:40. > :38:55.Twigg from New Zealand. Another victory for New Zealand. I

:38:56. > :38:58.am not sure what musical part we are from, but anyway, it has started

:38:59. > :39:03.raining. We have been waiting for it for a couple of hours or so, and

:39:04. > :39:08.finally big, big daddy clouds up there, so I suspect that has set in

:39:09. > :39:12.for a while. Anyway, that race, it would have been lovely for Ireland

:39:13. > :39:16.to have got a medal. I know, I know, and if that is a favoured lane over

:39:17. > :39:19.there, she was the right lane to do it. Really oppressive result, the

:39:20. > :39:23.best Irish result in a thing or skull in a long time, maybe ever, so

:39:24. > :39:28.it is great to see, but it went to form. Emma Twigg has looked the

:39:29. > :39:32.dominant single sculler all season. Kim Crow was the champion last year,

:39:33. > :39:36.and her as an athlete, she has more height than Emma Twigg, and I think

:39:37. > :39:40.people thought she might have been dominant in singles for a long time,

:39:41. > :39:43.but she has just not been moving the boat as smoothly and efficiently as

:39:44. > :39:49.Emma has done all season so I think the right person has won today. Why

:39:50. > :39:52.are New Zealand having a vintage period in their rowing history? Have

:39:53. > :39:56.they got a system that is, if not the envy of the world, because ours

:39:57. > :40:00.is pretty handy, but they obviously have so much smaller resources at

:40:01. > :40:05.their disposal. How are they able to be so successful? To be fair, they

:40:06. > :40:10.are going through a golden period, but they have been successful in the

:40:11. > :40:13.past as well. Their small boat programme is fantastic. They are the

:40:14. > :40:20.envy of the world on that level. That is the two single scullers,

:40:21. > :40:23.Drysdale and Twigg, the men's pair clearly dominant for a long time

:40:24. > :40:27.now. The doubles, they have both done well in heavyweights men's and

:40:28. > :40:32.women's, so they have a fantastic crew. They have a system of success

:40:33. > :40:36.that works. Once you have success after success, people know what

:40:37. > :40:39.makes you work, the coaches know, the athletes know, the training

:40:40. > :40:43.programme is in place any can keep having success. Let's mention a fume

:40:44. > :40:49.or British athletes, Vicky Thornley was not in the final... This

:40:50. > :40:52.umbrella is not big enough, we must send out a bigger ones. There she is

:40:53. > :41:13.winning the B send out a bigger ones. There she is

:41:14. > :41:17.agonisingly close to losing that bronze to venture the end, so I

:41:18. > :41:21.suppose end they have got a very well-deserved memento to take home

:41:22. > :41:24.for what was their part in a fantastic race. We have one more

:41:25. > :41:30.race to go in this year's World Championships Regatta. The finale,

:41:31. > :41:38.as ever, is the men's eight and Britain are defending champions.

:41:39. > :41:43.COMMENTATOR: The final of the men's eight, the great British crew I

:41:44. > :41:47.heads up, they are rising to the occasion! The Germans are going

:41:48. > :41:52.hard, they are not going to do it, Great Britain have got it! We have

:41:53. > :41:58.made history in the men's eight at the World Championships! The final

:41:59. > :42:02.of the men's eight here at Lucerne, the last and final 2014 World Cup

:42:03. > :42:08.Regatta, Great Britain getting the bronze medal. The disappointment is

:42:09. > :42:15.they are slipping further behind the Germans each time they race. We have

:42:16. > :42:18.a lot of strength but we are not using it. We are not where we want

:42:19. > :42:25.to be, we were not in Lucerne, but we know that the British crews are

:42:26. > :42:29.capable. We still have to go up through the gears but we are very

:42:30. > :42:33.close to doing it. I am still not sure we are capable of. We are more

:42:34. > :42:37.capable than what the boat has done this season. Not everyone in that

:42:38. > :42:41.boat at the start of the year sat down and said I wanted to be in the

:42:42. > :42:47.eighth. Pete Reed wanted to be in the eight, and had his illness

:42:48. > :42:51.issues as. How is it working with somebody who deep down you know

:42:52. > :42:54.wants to be somewhere else? With Pete, first of all, he and the rest

:42:55. > :42:58.of the team have to be realistic, and he is more realistic than

:42:59. > :43:02.anyone, in that he accepts his performance this year has not

:43:03. > :43:07.warranted selection in the four. Off the back of that, he has brought in

:43:08. > :43:12.in a fantastic way, the somebody who is used to winning trials, used to

:43:13. > :43:15.being in the top boat. He has been able just to buy into this new

:43:16. > :43:19.project. He has brought a sort of excitement to it actually. Rea there

:43:20. > :43:22.is a lot of talent in the boat and experience, but the thing that

:43:23. > :43:26.separates me is I have got what everyone else in the boat once, an

:43:27. > :43:31.Olympic gold medal. I am hungry for another one but I see the hunger and

:43:32. > :43:36.youth in those guys. My role is to bring a bit of its period into the

:43:37. > :43:40.bed. Looking to the season, the ends of our races were not fast enough.

:43:41. > :43:46.Through the middle we have a good pace. A solid engine in the boat. We

:43:47. > :43:50.need to get out of the blocks and part of that is putting the blade of

:43:51. > :43:56.that is putting the blade in the it. Raw speed and raw powder. -- raw

:43:57. > :44:01.power. We are packing a lot of heat but we need to bring it all together

:44:02. > :44:07.now. It is coming. But everyone's aim is to win gold medal. It will be

:44:08. > :44:16.tough. But we're not going there to lose. It might be a rather grisly

:44:17. > :44:24.finale, weather-wise, but the men's eight is always a spectacular

:44:25. > :44:32.finale. Clear macro let's have a quick chat with the commentators.

:44:33. > :44:39.James, you had plenty experience. In conditions like this, and given the

:44:40. > :44:41.way that the crews are ranked and rated, if you were coxing this

:44:42. > :44:49.British eight, what would be your approach? You have to keep your

:44:50. > :44:55.focus. The timing seems to be going all right. They are in good lane.

:44:56. > :44:59.Don't panic, let's just get out to 500. In men's eight racing, it is

:45:00. > :45:02.all about the first 500 metres. That is what they are really going to

:45:03. > :45:07.focus on here. They will have raced in rain before, and wind and God

:45:08. > :45:11.knows what. That is not going to be a major issue. They will prepare for

:45:12. > :45:15.all of that. They will be so psyched and it is a matter of keeping them

:45:16. > :45:18.calm. A fine balance of keeping it, and then just unleashing the star

:45:19. > :45:25.programme, the first 100 metres out of 500. James, took us through from

:45:26. > :45:31.one to eight, from stroke the bow, not the individuals, but in terms of

:45:32. > :45:37.groups of people, at what stage of the race do different members of

:45:38. > :45:42.that crew come into their own? It is all eight all the way down, that is

:45:43. > :45:45.the first thing. And the difference is the stern pair have the lead out

:45:46. > :45:49.sharp and get them out and in the race, then the middle of the crew,

:45:50. > :45:55.the engine room, six, five, four, three, they are going to be powering

:45:56. > :45:58.through that middle thousand. And then the Bow pair, it is their job

:45:59. > :46:03.to keep the chart. The bottom line is they have to be in the race right

:46:04. > :46:07.from the start. They know they have a quick last 300, 400 metres, and

:46:08. > :46:09.that will be testament. They've only that but the wind is in their

:46:10. > :46:19.favour. COMMENTATOR: Germany, the world

:46:20. > :46:22.champions from three years back, they are the Olympic champions here

:46:23. > :46:29.today. Poland in four, Great Britain in Lane 5. It is all about the first

:46:30. > :46:35.ten strokes, then out to 100, then out to 500. Germany, just by a foot.

:46:36. > :46:40.The great thing about the Germans is whatever part of the race in the

:46:41. > :46:44.history, they can sit three feet up and be completely loose and

:46:45. > :46:49.relaxed, not under pressure. Already, USA closest to us in Lane

:46:50. > :46:54.6. The medals here could go anywhere to Germany in Lane 3, Poland in

:46:55. > :46:58.four, Great Britain five, the United States of America in Lane 6. But

:46:59. > :47:03.look, James, at the power, in the green vote of Germany. They really

:47:04. > :47:09.know how to get out strong. The Germans have had an absolutely

:47:10. > :47:16.shocking Regatta, the pair, in the four -- in the green boat of

:47:17. > :47:19.Germany. It will be an absolutely disastrous Regatta for the Germans

:47:20. > :47:27.if they don't win, so they are under real pressure from themselves and

:47:28. > :47:34.the rest of the team. I don't think the Poles will be in this. Germany,

:47:35. > :47:38.Poland and Great Britain now. This event has a tradition of whoever

:47:39. > :47:42.gets to the 500-metre mark holds on and wins 2000 metres down the line.

:47:43. > :47:47.This is all about Sprint racing now. The Germans are just holding on, two

:47:48. > :47:51.or three feet, they are OK, they wed be phased, but brilliantly done so

:47:52. > :47:56.far. Great Britain sitting in Lane 5. We talk about transitioning into

:47:57. > :48:03.rhythm here. Look on the left of your screen, Germany are 40, Great

:48:04. > :48:07.Britain at 38, Poland at 39, USA at 39 strokes per minute. They are

:48:08. > :48:10.right on the edge may have got to maintain that, and Great Britain

:48:11. > :48:16.just starting to ease here in Lane 5. On the GPS, the Brits have

:48:17. > :48:19.overtaken the Germans, in terms of the speed they are going. That has

:48:20. > :48:25.brought them up level with the Germans. The Poles are starting to

:48:26. > :48:27.drift back. The Americans are not in the race so I think it will come

:48:28. > :48:32.down to the Germans against the British. The British now have not

:48:33. > :48:35.got the best start that they have a great middle and end and they will

:48:36. > :48:40.need it. They have also got a slight advantage in the lane and they have

:48:41. > :48:44.to make that count. The Germans will not want to end with another minor

:48:45. > :48:48.medal. Sensational stuff from Great Britain as we head towards the

:48:49. > :48:52.halfway line. We are already at the halfway mark in the final of the

:48:53. > :48:56.men's heavyweight eight. And Great Britain have taken it on by two or

:48:57. > :49:01.three feet over Poland. Germany slipping back into that place. Now,

:49:02. > :49:06.this is where we really lay it down, the third 500. Expect a big, big

:49:07. > :49:11.push here from Great Britain, sitting in Lane 5. The Germans,

:49:12. > :49:17.though, slipping back here, Poland still going strong. The race is on

:49:18. > :49:20.for gold between these three boats. The shot from behind, the Brits were

:49:21. > :49:24.looking a little bit ragged. They are still moving on the Germans, and

:49:25. > :49:27.I saw the German starting to glimpse over at both the Poles and the

:49:28. > :49:32.Brits. They are not comfortable either, it will be a 3-way tussle

:49:33. > :49:35.over two minutes, and these two minutes will determine whether your

:49:36. > :49:41.year's training has been a waste of time are not. There is no one else I

:49:42. > :49:46.would rather want to be in my bed than Constantine Louloudis, Tom

:49:47. > :49:49.Ransley, Paul Bennett, Pete Reed, Matthew Gotrel, Williams sat,

:49:50. > :49:56.Matthew Tarrant and Nathaniel Reilly-O'Donnell in the bow. They

:49:57. > :50:02.know they can do it, it is all about the confidence -- Williams sat.

:50:03. > :50:09.Constantine Louloudis is powering this way!

:50:10. > :50:14.My prediction that the Poles would drop off is not turning out to be

:50:15. > :50:20.true, they are only a couple of feet down on the Brits. The British, they

:50:21. > :50:24.said they have heat in the boat and they have power in the last 500.

:50:25. > :50:29.Now, lads, you have got to show it, and right at this point they are in

:50:30. > :50:32.the perfect position. So now they have got to leave absolutely

:50:33. > :50:37.everything in the last 400 metres, everything coming at the end of the

:50:38. > :50:41.blade here, out on the water. Inside 40 strokes remaining now, they are

:50:42. > :50:45.down to 35 strokes, they will be counting it in. Look at this go!

:50:46. > :50:49.Great Britain now have taken Germany, they are still under

:50:50. > :50:54.pressure, though, from Poland. This is a race to the line, and they are

:50:55. > :50:58.300 out. Any crew that makes a mistake now, they are out of it, the

:50:59. > :51:02.Germans are charging. They have learned from last year, they are

:51:03. > :51:07.charging, they are closing the Poles, it is going to be a close

:51:08. > :51:11.one. Here it is to the line, inside 200, 20 strokes, Germany now,

:51:12. > :51:18.surely, surely Great Britain have done enough? Every single one of

:51:19. > :51:22.them will be hurting now, everyone will been wishing for the line and

:51:23. > :51:25.the line is coming fast and it is coming in the favour of Great

:51:26. > :51:33.Britain! Inside ten strokes, Great Britain are going to be that our

:51:34. > :51:37.champions in the men's 84 2014! Yes! On the line, Great Britain are the

:51:38. > :51:41.world champions! They don't realise it yet, they do now, and they are

:51:42. > :51:48.punching the air! World champions, Great Britain, and that, ladies and

:51:49. > :51:51.gentlemen, is how you race at the bow champions in the men's eight!

:51:52. > :51:57.They have completely debunked the myth of getting the 500 metres

:51:58. > :52:02.first. This is a crew that did not panic in the middle thousand, and

:52:03. > :52:08.look at that, rejection, completely, where did it all go wrong for

:52:09. > :52:14.Germany, who have dominated again in 2014? As they did in 2013, but with

:52:15. > :52:18.an almost completely different boat from last year. Great Britain are

:52:19. > :52:24.the world champions, and well done to Phelan Hill, driving his mentor

:52:25. > :52:26.the line, keeping clear focus. That is what it means to Constantine

:52:27. > :52:34.Louloudis, who has come back from boat race Judy 's and put into this

:52:35. > :52:38.position here. He led his men well. James, that was incredible. It was.

:52:39. > :52:46.They beat the German eight by the same margin that the best four

:52:47. > :52:51.athletes have gone out that eight, and for them to repeat the feat,

:52:52. > :52:55.remember, last year was the first year we had ever been well champions

:52:56. > :53:00.in the eighth. To lose your best athlete and still be well

:53:01. > :53:10.champions. Phelan Hill, cool, calm, collected

:53:11. > :53:14.there. That is what it is all about, they came under a tremendous amount

:53:15. > :53:19.of pressure. There was a point at 100 metres out when Germany found

:53:20. > :53:21.something. The boat lifted up, it came back at the British cruel, but

:53:22. > :53:26.it was too late for them. -- came back at the British cruel, but

:53:27. > :53:41.British crew. There is confirmation of Great

:53:42. > :53:44.Britain, world champions once again. I think even the most optimistic of

:53:45. > :53:47.observers did not think that was going to happen here. Everybody was

:53:48. > :53:51.saying they might get a silver, but to win it and win it in that manner

:53:52. > :53:55.was absolutely fantastic. Absolutely. Even during the week, it

:53:56. > :54:02.was not obvious that result would be possible. The fact that they did it

:54:03. > :54:05.with a kind of much less experienced crew, much less successful, we all

:54:06. > :54:09.thought it would take a lot longer to come together and get the success

:54:10. > :54:13.with what was possible. So to get it this year is pretty special. We only

:54:14. > :54:17.have a couple of minutes or so before we have to say goodbye, but

:54:18. > :54:21.that certainly ends things in the grand manner. I think the guys will

:54:22. > :54:26.be blowing past us in a few minutes time, we might grab a quick word.

:54:27. > :54:28.But overall that is the icing on the cake. How would you assess the last

:54:29. > :54:49.48 hours for arts? The medals that we have one have

:54:50. > :54:53.been incredibly sensational. The women's team, heavyweight and

:54:54. > :54:56.lightweight women, are going to be disappointed with their haul, but

:54:57. > :55:02.other than that, exciting place to be, and none more than on

:55:03. > :55:07.Wednesday, those eight guys proved something special. They proved they

:55:08. > :55:13.could pull everything together and get it right on the day. First ever

:55:14. > :55:19.long interview, I will try to see if I can speak with them... Great

:55:20. > :55:23.television! That got us nowhere! Well done! LAUGHTER

:55:24. > :55:31.We know what they are thinking, we know what they want to say.

:55:32. > :55:36.Highlight of the regatta? The men raced incredibly well, the men's

:55:37. > :55:40.eight. Especially when you have won a race, you have got to treat it as

:55:41. > :55:44.though you lost it. The Brits had the lane that I would have chosen to

:55:45. > :55:49.race in but they used it well but it is important that they realise that

:55:50. > :55:53.they may have had an advantage and do not think of themselves as world

:55:54. > :56:01.champions over the winter, they have got to think of themselves as an

:56:02. > :56:05.underdog. Only halfway through the Olympiad, they do not give our

:56:06. > :56:08.Olympic medals today. The men's quad have got to have the same approach,

:56:09. > :56:12.going through the winter ahead of them.

:56:13. > :56:19.Thank you very much, and good luck making your decision. And whoever it

:56:20. > :56:22.was that put all of the boom microphones down there, to ensure

:56:23. > :56:26.that we could interview them in their moment of triumph, well done!

:56:27. > :56:31.Thank you for watching in the last couple of days and we will see you

:56:32. > :56:34.next season. Brazil will be only one year away.