Lucerne - Live Coverage

:00:14. > :00:20.Welcome to Switzerland, welcome to Lucerne. This is often called the

:00:21. > :00:24.best rowing course in the world. The rowing infrastructure fits perfectly

:00:25. > :00:30.in it and it is so often like this. Flat, fair and beautiful. What a

:00:31. > :00:36.contrast to the European Championships in Germany a few weeks

:00:37. > :00:40.ago. Welcome to the 2016 European Rowing Championships from

:00:41. > :00:44.Brandenburg with 89 days to go to Rio. The countdown begins today.

:00:45. > :00:50.Great Britain getting the gold in the lightweight men's coxless pair.

:00:51. > :00:59.First on the list for Team GB. Heather Stanning and Glover, it

:01:00. > :01:04.European champions once again. Just caught on the line. The Brits will

:01:05. > :01:06.be disappointed with that. Gold for Germany and the statement they are

:01:07. > :01:15.sending to the British world champions is that gold medal in Rio

:01:16. > :01:20.is far from certain. Great Britain are the European champions in the

:01:21. > :01:26.men's heavyweight coxless four. A win is a win at this time of the

:01:27. > :01:30.season. The British crew do it once more. Switzerland squeezed out at

:01:31. > :01:35.the line and Britain get the silver. They are through on the line and

:01:36. > :01:39.they have taken it! Great Britain are the European champions. That is

:01:40. > :01:46.how you do it in these kinds of conditions. Well, it might have been

:01:47. > :01:50.rough in Brandenburg, that they had sunshine. In Lucerne the wind has

:01:51. > :01:58.got up and it is driving rain under the tent and I am beside the lake

:01:59. > :02:02.with Steve Redgrave. Just look back to the European Championships

:02:03. > :02:06.briefly. How do you assess the British performance? I think overall

:02:07. > :02:10.it was very good but we ask used to such success in recent years that we

:02:11. > :02:17.came away a bit disappointed with the results. The gold medals, two

:02:18. > :02:24.silvers and one bronze is a good hall but I felt disappointed. Our

:02:25. > :02:29.commentary cupboard is on the far side of the lake. James, can you

:02:30. > :02:38.hear me? The biggest story from the British point of view is the absence

:02:39. > :02:45.of the women's double. No Katherine Grainger in Lucerne. Yes, it meant

:02:46. > :02:50.there would always be some change in terms of how they restructured

:02:51. > :02:53.themselves or whether they should do another boat. We think that will

:02:54. > :02:58.happen but we are waiting for confirmation. Then it is which boat

:02:59. > :03:02.they will go into. And an enormous bout of illness coming through the

:03:03. > :03:05.British team running up to this weekend. Even overnight in the last

:03:06. > :03:11.few hours, which seems to have affected every boat we are about to

:03:12. > :03:15.watch race. Yes. It is a real disappointment. Pete Lambert has

:03:16. > :03:26.come out of the men's Quad and the women's pair rout of the racing.

:03:27. > :03:31.This is a big event, the whole world is here, and they want to put in a

:03:32. > :03:37.big performance and we will see how they fare. Constantine Louloudis is

:03:38. > :03:41.also out. Lucerne has not always been a happy hunting ground for

:03:42. > :03:46.British crews in an Olympic year. We have had some shoppers. Especially

:03:47. > :03:50.in the Olympic year. I have to go back to 1984 for getting a victory

:03:51. > :03:53.at Lucerne in an Olympic year. It is one of the stepping stones towards

:03:54. > :03:58.the Olympics so there are lots of illnesses and problems around but it

:03:59. > :04:03.is not the major event of the year. It is an important one. Does it make

:04:04. > :04:07.a difference whether you lose or win here? Is it something you can shake

:04:08. > :04:12.off if you don't have a good result but take the best if you do when? If

:04:13. > :04:15.you are racing, you want to win. If you have illness and you are not

:04:16. > :04:20.racing and you have a substitute, there is an excuse that you can fall

:04:21. > :04:25.back on, but if you are racing many want to do as well as you possibly

:04:26. > :04:29.can to make sure you don't have negative thoughts going into the

:04:30. > :04:34.last World Cup race. Thank you. We will go live on the lake for the

:04:35. > :04:40.first race, the men's pair. Great Britain represented by a new

:04:41. > :04:44.combination of Reilly O'Donnell and Matthew Tarrant. Over to the

:04:45. > :04:55.commentary box. Big surprise in the first few

:04:56. > :05:01.hundred metres, the world champions, the New Zealanders, they are down.

:05:02. > :05:06.Down a reasonable amount. A bit slow off the start. Not a major problem

:05:07. > :05:14.but it gives everybody in the first 500 metres a bit of a sense of, OK,

:05:15. > :05:18.it is going OK. These are the New Zealanders, Eric Murray and Hamish

:05:19. > :05:24.Bond, Olympic champions, multi-world champions. They have dominated this

:05:25. > :05:29.event since they got into this boat post-Beijing in 2008. In the second

:05:30. > :05:35.500, you expect them to overhaul Great Britain in number three. This

:05:36. > :05:38.is the lane order. Spain, Netherlands, Great Britain, new

:05:39. > :05:43.combination for this event in lane three, New Zealand in four, South

:05:44. > :05:46.Africa and five and Australia out of your picture here in six.

:05:47. > :05:56.Interesting opening stages for the Kiwis. Yes, it is nothing that

:05:57. > :06:00.different. What they do is they maintain that speed ferociously for

:06:01. > :06:04.the middle 1000. They are already coming at level and they will be

:06:05. > :06:10.well ahead by 1000 and storming ahead by 1500. They are not only

:06:11. > :06:15.that fast but that confident in their ability. It is a 2000 metres

:06:16. > :06:20.race not 500 metres and they are perfect exponents of that. The other

:06:21. > :06:23.thing is you don't know how long they have been in Europe before.

:06:24. > :06:29.They are here for the long haul and they need to be fully acclimatised.

:06:30. > :06:33.Coming up to the halfway mark. 1000 down, 1000 to go. Poised nicely, New

:06:34. > :06:37.Zealand, Olympic world champions, to take the race on. Nathaniel

:06:38. > :06:42.Reilly-O'Donnell and Matthew Tarrant for Great Britain currently in

:06:43. > :06:46.second place. Matthew Tarrant in the stroke seat. They need a

:06:47. > :06:51.consolidated 500 metres because a whole load of stuff is going on in

:06:52. > :06:58.the British team for these guys. They were first in Arrese, the first

:06:59. > :07:04.Cup six weeks ago. They spout won, they went out there, and they are

:07:05. > :07:11.battling it out against Sinclair and Innes, the other main pair, if you

:07:12. > :07:15.like. They have been split up because of the illness. We will see

:07:16. > :07:22.Innes subbing later. Up to the British to put on a good performance

:07:23. > :07:26.for the selectors. The reality is and the selectors know that they are

:07:27. > :07:30.not going to beat New Zealand unless they have an illness or an absolute

:07:31. > :07:34.shocker. They are not going to beat them. What they do need to do is

:07:35. > :07:39.fill the gap, basically the void between New Zealand and the next

:07:40. > :07:42.fastest crew, and what they need to do is demonstrate that they are the

:07:43. > :07:46.next fastest crew to make sure they get in the selection for the British

:07:47. > :07:51.slot for the Olympics. They are doing that but it is pretty close.

:07:52. > :07:54.They are not that far ahead of the Dutch, so they need to make sure

:07:55. > :07:59.they keep ahead of the Dutch and get a silver medal otherwise they have

:08:00. > :08:14.no chance of staying in the power. From Cambridge on the north island.

:08:15. > :08:22.30 years of age, Hamish, backed up by Murray, 34. This is a serious

:08:23. > :08:33.Olympic year with 68 days to go. They have clear water. Second place

:08:34. > :08:37.is led by Great Britain. Second, third and fourth are within half a

:08:38. > :08:41.second and the British boys need to make sure they are on the right side

:08:42. > :08:47.of that half a second to edge into the British slot for the Rio

:08:48. > :08:51.Olympics. People ask me what the motivation is behind Murray and

:08:52. > :08:55.Bond, because they have been unbeaten for so long. What keeps

:08:56. > :08:58.them driving? Yes, they have set different goals to give themselves

:08:59. > :09:04.different challenges, but what they are haunted by is the Beijing

:09:05. > :09:09.Olympics in 2008, when they were 2007 world champions. In the 2008

:09:10. > :09:15.Olympics, they didn't make the final for the New Zealand four. They are

:09:16. > :09:20.perfectly aware that you might not make the final despite having the

:09:21. > :09:24.perfect record. They are just ironing out anybody else's ambitions

:09:25. > :09:28.to take them on. They are in the position of being unbeatable

:09:29. > :09:34.mentally in the Olympics and that is what they are demonstrating. New

:09:35. > :09:39.Zealand leads and Great Britain have got to watch out for South Africa

:09:40. > :09:44.who are making a late charge in the closing 150 metres of this final at

:09:45. > :09:49.Lucerne. Out front, New Zealand, the world and Olympic champions leading

:09:50. > :09:52.now as Great Britain fighting in a real dogfight with South Africa for

:09:53. > :09:57.the silver medal. Netherlands in lane number two up there as well. We

:09:58. > :10:01.have New Zealand winning and on the line it is going to be very close

:10:02. > :10:13.from South Africa and Great Britain. The! It is hard to call. A photo

:10:14. > :10:17.finish. We will get the full confirmation but out front, clearly

:10:18. > :10:22.and authoritatively, New Zealand. We will get the confirmation as it

:10:23. > :10:27.comes through on our screens. I am going for Great Britain in second.

:10:28. > :10:31.They were caught though. I am going for it. It is a photo finish but I

:10:32. > :10:36.feel confident. South Africa came back into it and the Netherlands

:10:37. > :10:42.came back very strong. These guys don't care. The Olympic and World

:10:43. > :10:51.champions through in Clearwater. Great Britain there just? There you

:10:52. > :10:56.go! By a couple of inches. Great Britain second. We see it on the

:10:57. > :11:00.screen now. The rain comes down here in Lucerne. Still a good performance

:11:01. > :11:10.from Nathaniel Reilly O'Donnell and Matthew Tarrant. These are the

:11:11. > :11:14.margins. A good performance does not guarantee you getting that slot for

:11:15. > :11:20.the Olympics. To get the best chance, they need to come second

:11:21. > :11:24.here. We are waiting. That photo finish confirmed it kind but nothing

:11:25. > :11:29.is fully confirmed by the governing body until they put it up on the

:11:30. > :11:35.screen and notify the athletes. It was a good result in any event. This

:11:36. > :11:41.crew started their World Cup campaign in that depleted field. OK,

:11:42. > :11:49.the Dutch have been given second place. That will squeeze Great

:11:50. > :11:55.Britain back. It didn't look like that. Great Britain get third place.

:11:56. > :11:56.There will be a moment of elation of silver being pushed back into

:11:57. > :12:09.bronze. Perhaps one of the most predictable

:12:10. > :12:12.gold medals of the day for the Kiwi pair. I suppose the question

:12:13. > :12:17.everybody wants to know is whether they are the best pair ever. I think

:12:18. > :12:20.you keep asking that question and you are the only one who wants that

:12:21. > :12:27.answer! They are certainly the best pair around of their decade.

:12:28. > :12:31.Whatever situation. I don't think that was a great performance by

:12:32. > :12:36.them. Very rarely do we see them holding back in the field. Their

:12:37. > :12:40.technique wasn't looking that smooth as it has done before. It looked

:12:41. > :12:44.like they were driving their legs really strongly and not being that

:12:45. > :12:47.effective. They are such a class above everyone else around them,

:12:48. > :12:52.they were still able to win the race. It puts them under a lot of

:12:53. > :12:58.pressure when they are in the first 504th or fifth when we first joined

:12:59. > :13:03.that race. -- when they are in the first 500, and they are fourth or

:13:04. > :13:08.fifth. We always used to try and lead the race straightaway. We

:13:09. > :13:12.always paced the first 1000 the way that we needed to be set so that we

:13:13. > :13:15.could last the distance and not overcome it, and most of the time

:13:16. > :13:19.that put us out in front, and that is the way that Eric and Hamish have

:13:20. > :13:23.done it over the years as well. If you are leading by a long way, it is

:13:24. > :13:28.not likely that anyone will come back. I am not putting doubt out

:13:29. > :13:31.there that there will be an Olympic gold medal round their neck in a few

:13:32. > :13:36.months' time, but that is not their best by any stretch of the

:13:37. > :13:38.imagination. James, you have just commentated on the race, but

:13:39. > :13:43.pointing to the attributes of the Kiwis that make them so consistent

:13:44. > :13:46.and dominant in this event, it is no surprise that they keep on winning

:13:47. > :13:50.and I am sure nothing will get in their way between now and Rio.

:13:51. > :13:58.Exactly. They have so many things in their favour, part the fear -- apart

:13:59. > :14:05.from the fear they strike into the hearts of their opponents, and they

:14:06. > :14:08.are not very heavy. The cruise around them have got to match them

:14:09. > :14:15.in strength and also in terms of weight. They didn't row that well

:14:16. > :14:20.today that their technique is ferociously in that middle bit. They

:14:21. > :14:23.really dig deep. Their paces what crews find it difficult to live

:14:24. > :14:27.with. They can spread faster at either end but it is in the middle

:14:28. > :14:32.that they destroy people. As if by magic we are joined by Eric and

:14:33. > :14:41.Hamish. How was that race? Surprising to be so far down earlier

:14:42. > :14:45.on. It is a to kilometre race, man! We haven't been doing our job

:14:46. > :14:51.properly of trying to be the best, and then people wouldn't find ways

:14:52. > :14:54.to beat us, like going out in front. Luckily enough nobody can match is

:14:55. > :14:59.in the middle part of the race. If that happens, they will be closer to

:15:00. > :15:03.the finish but until then we have plenty to work on in the first part

:15:04. > :15:07.and we will always keep striving for more, simple as that. Some of your

:15:08. > :15:09.fitness results are obscene. That must give you confidence in the

:15:10. > :15:25.middle of the race. Yes, this is 16 years of hard grind.

:15:26. > :15:30.We are always trying to find ways to push each other. That is producing a

:15:31. > :15:35.successful programme, we are pushing in the team. How much appetite have

:15:36. > :15:43.you got for rear? It is a few weeks away now. We will be based in Europe

:15:44. > :15:47.for the whole period until rear. We are still getting our feet on the

:15:48. > :15:53.ground, we have only been in Europe for five days. It is a long way to

:15:54. > :15:58.come across the world. We are looking forward to Rio, it will be

:15:59. > :16:08.exciting. A few more races before Rio kicks off hopefully. Are you

:16:09. > :16:13.thinking about Rio now? If you start thinking too far ahead, you lose

:16:14. > :16:19.sense of the process. Those decisions come pretty closely up,

:16:20. > :16:23.but now we are just focus on what happens between now and beer and

:16:24. > :16:29.forget about what happens in the future. It is great to see you going

:16:30. > :16:37.quick. We hope the Brits are going to push you really hard. I do as

:16:38. > :16:41.well. Everybody is out there to try and win, people are not out there to

:16:42. > :16:47.make up the numbers. People want to win, and we do as well. You could

:16:48. > :16:53.not make it up. Fantastic role models for our sport. Very much so,

:16:54. > :16:58.they are a class act in everything they do, the training, the racing

:16:59. > :17:04.and the preparation and media interviews as well. Two top guys.

:17:05. > :17:09.Let's turn our attention to the men's lightweight double sculls.

:17:10. > :17:14.That happened earlier today. This is a split regatta, so we have got

:17:15. > :17:21.morning racing and afternoon racing. We are going to have the men's quad

:17:22. > :17:22.today. There was another illness and it affected the crews today. Let's

:17:23. > :17:33.see how they got on. Two years ago Great Britain in this

:17:34. > :17:38.event had a dream season, finishing with a silver medal in the World

:17:39. > :17:43.Championships. Since then it has been a time of frustration with

:17:44. > :17:46.injury and illness. That illness continues again today. They were

:17:47. > :17:53.disappointed with their finish in the European Championships three

:17:54. > :18:02.weeks ago. Jack Bowman comes in for his ill team-mate. Graeme Thomas is

:18:03. > :18:11.in the stroke seat. Two subs on board the quadruple sculls for

:18:12. > :18:18.Britain. Jack Beaumont sits in the bow seat. He is also doubling up in

:18:19. > :18:23.the men's double sculls. Great Britain in four and Switzerland in

:18:24. > :18:28.five. Such is the competition here getting to this final that Germany

:18:29. > :18:34.complete the line-up, closest to us, and they are the world and Olympic

:18:35. > :18:40.champions, in lane six. Not the best lane to be in. You are very much out

:18:41. > :18:44.of it. You do not want to be on the outside lane for a number of

:18:45. > :18:54.reasons, here because the camera crew are next to you. But our quad

:18:55. > :18:58.are going well. They are showing that a change does not necessarily

:18:59. > :19:07.take away anything from your attitude and your boat speed. The

:19:08. > :19:10.other five crews are all in a line. Our boys are three quarters of a leg

:19:11. > :19:20.up and they could build on this in the middle part of the race. That

:19:21. > :19:25.would be a fantastic step forward. Graeme Thomas to the left of your

:19:26. > :19:31.picture is leading this British quadruple sculls. Again absolutely

:19:32. > :19:35.fantastic conditions on the water. When you are on the water level you

:19:36. > :19:41.get a feel of how the boat is moving, the speed of the boat. Such

:19:42. > :19:46.contrast in conditions than we had at the European Championships a few

:19:47. > :19:50.weeks back. Although it is disappointing to have so many

:19:51. > :19:55.injuries and illness, the guys coming in now with 60 days to go, if

:19:56. > :20:05.they race well here, they can put themselves back into the mix to be

:20:06. > :20:08.part of it permanently. This quad is consistently fast and there are

:20:09. > :20:14.about six or eight of them and if you race well, you have got every

:20:15. > :20:19.chance of keeping your seat. They are racing world so far, but it is

:20:20. > :20:26.only halfway yet. Three quarters of a length up for Great Britain.

:20:27. > :20:31.Australia and Switzerland are in amongst it all. I am looking at the

:20:32. > :20:37.speed of the German crew. They are sitting around fifth. It is a big

:20:38. > :20:52.question to nail the third 500 here. If they can continued this momentum.

:20:53. > :20:57.The Australians have strengthened their team and they will push hard.

:20:58. > :21:04.Australia are coming back and tracking Great Britain. Switzerland

:21:05. > :21:09.is in lane number five and we also expect Germany to find some speed in

:21:10. > :21:16.this third. The Australians are moving quickly now. But will they

:21:17. > :21:24.pay for it in the last 400 metres? We traditionally have a strong last

:21:25. > :21:34.500 and not a fast first 500. Will it have cost them a little bit of

:21:35. > :21:45.gas in the last 500? The Australians are now coming back to a quarter of

:21:46. > :21:52.a length. This third 500 has been blistering from the Australians.

:21:53. > :21:56.There is a quarter of this race to go and the British are hanging on by

:21:57. > :22:04.their fingernails as the Australians continue to find the speed. When you

:22:05. > :22:09.get tired, it is harder to hold it together and when you get tired and

:22:10. > :22:17.you are a new combination that gets magnified, so it will be difficult.

:22:18. > :22:21.The heads have got to stay up. Clear water, the Australians are coming

:22:22. > :22:26.through. It is almost a matter of forgetting the Australians and

:22:27. > :22:32.concentrate on the speed and keep the sharpness, not to be demoralised

:22:33. > :22:39.by the Australians. Otherwise the rest of the world will come back at

:22:40. > :22:42.you. If they get frustrated, the Australians are overtaking them, but

:22:43. > :22:55.the reality is they are still ahead of the other four boats. This is a

:22:56. > :22:58.very good performance from scratch team. The Australians are showing

:22:59. > :23:05.their pedigree from last year's World Championships. Australia have

:23:06. > :23:12.taken a full two let's clear water out of Great Britain. They are

:23:13. > :23:17.moving away as the British crew contain the Swiss in lane number

:23:18. > :23:21.five. It is gold to Australia and silver to Great Britain and bronze

:23:22. > :23:24.to Switzerland. All things told with Jack Beaumont in the bow street that

:23:25. > :23:28.is a pretty good result for the British to get a medal will stop

:23:29. > :23:33.three weeks ago they were fifth at the European Championships.

:23:34. > :23:44.Australia, Great Britain and Switzerland.

:23:45. > :23:50.How was that feeling, especially in the opening stages? It was nice to

:23:51. > :23:57.have a look around and see that we were up. What can I say? We have

:23:58. > :24:05.changed the line-up in three weeks. The guys did a good job and we had

:24:06. > :24:11.trouble on the race day and Jack has done a great stepping in once again.

:24:12. > :24:17.The first stroke we took together as a four we were all over the place.

:24:18. > :24:23.But it shows what depth British spelling has got these days, put

:24:24. > :24:30.anyone in and we are on the podium. This is a massive step forward from

:24:31. > :24:32.the European Championships? Yes, the European Championships were

:24:33. > :24:40.disappointing for us and the weather was horrible. They did not give us a

:24:41. > :24:47.favourable lane, but we had to put out there what we had. We put

:24:48. > :24:52.together a different combination and try to get some speed in the first

:24:53. > :24:57.kilometre. We were really happy with our first kilometre, but there is

:24:58. > :25:02.still more work to do. Sam, how much more work is there to do? How much

:25:03. > :25:08.more potential is there in this combination M there is bags of

:25:09. > :25:12.potential. Firstly, Jack did an excellent job today. That was

:25:13. > :25:19.last-minute stuff. An hour and a half before racing we changed it. We

:25:20. > :25:29.did our first stroke and we nearly capsized! We thought, oh, no, what

:25:30. > :25:34.is going to happen here? That it settles down and we kept our heads

:25:35. > :25:40.and we rocketed off. That is what we spoke about. On the one hand we were

:25:41. > :25:45.really excited to race as a new line-up and go all the way to the

:25:46. > :25:55.line in that position. Maybe changing just then cost us, but all

:25:56. > :26:03.credit to the Australians. Jack, briefly, you have a busy day coming

:26:04. > :26:09.up. In three hours per I am in the main's doubles final, but I feel a

:26:10. > :26:12.bit bad for my partner. It shows you how good these guys and Pete and the

:26:13. > :26:17.coach are. They can get rid of one and drop me an an hour and a half

:26:18. > :26:25.before and still get a medal, pretty fantastic. A great result, guys,

:26:26. > :26:29.good luck, we will see you later. A fantastic performance from that

:26:30. > :26:36.men's squad. There has been a sea change in British spelling and men's

:26:37. > :26:41.sculling. It has been ten years, 15 years ago there was nothing like the

:26:42. > :26:46.quality that we see now. I think you can go back to 1977 which is the

:26:47. > :26:54.only gold medal we won at a World Championship. It was in the doldrums

:26:55. > :27:02.and I was part of those doldrums" and coming a long way behind. Is it

:27:03. > :27:09.partly the junior system that is encouraging more boys and girls into

:27:10. > :27:17.sculling? That is part of the story. The other part of the story is that

:27:18. > :27:23.they are so successful at sweeper rowing that they cannot get into the

:27:24. > :27:28.sweeper team. That has raised up a level and now they see sculling as a

:27:29. > :27:33.realistic chance of a medal and that motivate the next generation. Jack

:27:34. > :27:37.has been brilliant. He did not know this morning until early this

:27:38. > :27:43.morning that he was sobbing into the cord. He had a tough semifinal in

:27:44. > :27:49.the peers yesterday and he has still got another final two row later. We

:27:50. > :27:57.will see. His dad used to row in the early part of my career. I do not

:27:58. > :28:02.know if Pete every medal at Lucerne, so Jack has gone one above that. We

:28:03. > :28:07.have seen changes enforced on some of the crews and the men's pair was

:28:08. > :28:13.another example, a complete change in Munich, and yet they have got

:28:14. > :28:17.another medal. It seems that the depth in this squad is a lot more

:28:18. > :28:23.than we were ever used to. Pretty much so. There is no coxed pairs at

:28:24. > :28:30.the Olympic Games. It appeared that has raised there are world champions

:28:31. > :28:35.in the coxed pair. That is a little bit of downgrading because there is

:28:36. > :28:38.not an Olympic event. The pair that had raised at the Europeans this

:28:39. > :28:44.year have been sucked into other boats and one of them is ill as

:28:45. > :28:49.well. There is huge and depth, so we do not know who is going to be the

:28:50. > :28:55.pair at the Olympic Games yet. This is the men's coxless four. We sent

:28:56. > :28:58.James along to catch up with a key member of the group who is racing

:28:59. > :29:13.here, George Nash. Great Britain by the men's European

:29:14. > :29:18.champions. At the Europeans the conditions were incredibly rough and

:29:19. > :29:21.when I crossed the line I thought, I have not got anywhere near as much

:29:22. > :29:27.out of myself as I usually do because I was hampered by the wind

:29:28. > :29:33.and the conditions. That frustrated me. Ultimately the job is to win and

:29:34. > :29:36.we got that under our belts. Over the winter did you have a preference

:29:37. > :29:41.as to whether you would be in the eighth or the four? When they were

:29:42. > :29:50.announcing the team who was going to go for the four I thought I probably

:29:51. > :29:54.would rather be in the fours. But the aids is a fast and furious event

:29:55. > :30:00.that I personally enjoy. There is something to taking that on for

:30:01. > :30:06.sure. I am probably more of a realist and the is when we raised

:30:07. > :30:13.the four we won by a lot more than when we raised the aids how has it

:30:14. > :30:16.been with the guys that you work with last year and how is it since

:30:17. > :30:28.you have become a separate team? I don't look at it as a separate

:30:29. > :30:32.outfit. We are one effort trying to win, mostly by taking chunks out of

:30:33. > :30:36.each other in training, which we have been doing. It has brought

:30:37. > :30:40.really good things out of both boats. It is not as acrimonious as

:30:41. > :30:43.it could be and in general it is pretty healthy. I am not going to

:30:44. > :30:48.deny that there are small tensions between crews. There always will be

:30:49. > :30:51.with competitive guys. It might occasionally boil over here and

:30:52. > :30:57.there but in the big picture it is pretty healthy. Great Britain get

:30:58. > :31:01.the gold medal! Great Britain are the Olympic champions. Gold medal

:31:02. > :31:08.for Great Britain. Wonderfully done. Great Britain, the Olympic champions

:31:09. > :31:12.once more! Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London and Rio will be the fifth.

:31:13. > :31:17.Does that add to the pressure of being the top boat but also being

:31:18. > :31:21.the first one in 20 years not to win? I honestly do feel a bit like

:31:22. > :31:26.that. If things don't go quite to plan, the guys around me are just

:31:27. > :31:32.fiercely strong. I have a huge amount of respect for them. I am

:31:33. > :31:36.probably objectively the worst guy in this crew, so if we are losing it

:31:37. > :31:43.is me that needs to do my shoelaces up. Out of the four of view, who is

:31:44. > :31:51.the most opinionated out of the water and who is the most negative

:31:52. > :31:57.out of it? Mo rarely said we have nothing to work on. He really

:31:58. > :32:00.strives for perfection. Stan is very matter of fact. Sometimes he will

:32:01. > :32:05.say it is fine and sometimes he will say he is not happy with it. Greg is

:32:06. > :32:10.relaxed and positive, sort of a mixture really. If I have had a good

:32:11. > :32:19.night's sleep I am positive and not if I haven't. We do our best.

:32:20. > :32:26.We can see the coxless fours loaded up on the start. Constant Tyler

:32:27. > :32:32.Lueders, the selected stroke man for this combination for the European

:32:33. > :32:39.Championships is at home else. -- Constantine Louloudis.

:32:40. > :32:47.Over to the commentators. Thank you. Big Dave, McBride T,

:32:48. > :33:01.sitting in the bow seat of the top boat in the men's heavyweight team.

:33:02. > :33:10.-- big day for Callum McBrierty. They are coming under starters

:33:11. > :33:14.orders. Wait for the green light. We want now is Great Britain ease out.

:33:15. > :33:20.Slightly down on the first stroke but now they will start to wind it

:33:21. > :33:25.up. Led by Alex Gregory, 32 years of age, in the stroke seat, the Olympic

:33:26. > :33:29.champion in this event back in 2012 and leading out one of the top

:33:30. > :33:36.stroke man in the team anyway. Traditionally in the bow seat. He is

:33:37. > :33:42.getting his big chance to show Jurgen Grobler, the chief coach of

:33:43. > :33:46.the men's team. I know there is a lot of mutual respect between him

:33:47. > :33:50.and Alex Ferguson. At clean and fast. Australia taking on the

:33:51. > :33:59.momentum. Grease dropping off. Great Britain finding their stride. Alex

:34:00. > :34:07.Gregory, then George Nash, then Mo and then the super sub Callum

:34:08. > :34:12.McBrierty in four. Quality field here because the American boat is

:34:13. > :34:18.the top American sweep vote and the Australian crew is also the top

:34:19. > :34:23.Australian sweep boat. Yes, it is the best American boat, although

:34:24. > :34:39.they favour the eights, so they put therefore most athletes -- there for

:34:40. > :34:43.most athletes in the four. America and us are in the mix. The

:34:44. > :34:50.Australians going to the second 500 metres just leading the field here.

:34:51. > :34:52.2015 silver medallists in this event at the World Championships. Really

:34:53. > :35:01.big opportunity now for Great Britain. Just starting to

:35:02. > :35:05.consolidate. They are into the race now. Relaxing and finding easy speed

:35:06. > :35:10.as they sit alongside the Netherlands. The Netherlands did not

:35:11. > :35:16.start in the Group B final. Great Britain won that event here.

:35:17. > :35:22.Difference between them and the Dutch crew over the last few weeks.

:35:23. > :35:26.They didn't have the quickest start European Championships and this 500

:35:27. > :35:31.hasn't been that fast, but what they need to do is what the New Zealand

:35:32. > :35:35.pair demonstrate, which is a phenomenal middle part of the race.

:35:36. > :35:41.There they space. The Australians are actually showing that to them.

:35:42. > :35:51.The real drive for successful club in the second half. -- the drive for

:35:52. > :35:55.success will come in the second half. My fear and my hope is that

:35:56. > :36:02.the Australians can't demonstrate that in the second half. Add

:36:03. > :36:08.Lucerne, the penultimate World Cup regatta on the road to Rio. Coming

:36:09. > :36:16.up to halfway. The coxless fours. Netherlands in third, Russia in

:36:17. > :36:25.fourth, the USA languishing in fifth surprisingly. Around 1000 to 1250,

:36:26. > :36:30.they lift the pace. Not very comfortable from the Russian crew

:36:31. > :36:42.inlay number six. Led by a 33-year-old. You Klopp will not like

:36:43. > :36:46.watching this. -- Jurgen Grobler. He will find out more about his crew in

:36:47. > :36:51.this position than if they are winning from the start. Their second

:36:52. > :36:55.to last race before the Olympics. Nearly one length behind the

:36:56. > :37:00.Australians and going to have to dig deep. 750 metres left and if they do

:37:01. > :37:04.not dig deep now, they won't win. Now you can find out what your crew

:37:05. > :37:09.is made up. Yes, you can be the top boat, but you cannot find out what

:37:10. > :37:14.you have got if you're not put in this position. You don't want that

:37:15. > :37:20.first-time situation to be in Rio so this is great. There is an overlap,

:37:21. > :37:25.three quarters of a length down on Australia. If you are in the bowels

:37:26. > :37:31.of your four, how can they respond without panicking? The bow seat is

:37:32. > :37:39.the only person in his peripheral vision who can see the Australian

:37:40. > :37:44.boat. Alex Gregory, Mo and George Nash. They are rowing against

:37:45. > :37:51.nothing. He is going to have to be not only a sub but a real

:37:52. > :37:56.communicator. Reaching back. We are going to have to go now or we don't

:37:57. > :37:59.have a chance. They have to get back three quarters of a length and I

:38:00. > :38:05.don't think the Aussies will let this go. Two feet in the last 500

:38:06. > :38:08.metres, so the mid paced Australian crew, the middle part of the race,

:38:09. > :38:15.really solid. The British are starting to move up to a rate of 40

:38:16. > :38:20.strokes a minute. 39 is still high but they are not matching the

:38:21. > :38:24.British crew as they surge. That is the powerhouse of the British men's

:38:25. > :38:28.team in the middle. They are down to half a length now. What the Aussies

:38:29. > :38:34.haven't got compared to the Brits is raw horsepower and this is where it

:38:35. > :38:37.will count. They will be checking it in now. Jurgen Grobler will be

:38:38. > :38:40.watching and wondering if the training has paid off. He has put

:38:41. > :38:43.his boys through hell in the gym and on the water and on the rowing

:38:44. > :38:49.machine and this is where it will pay off. Win or lose. They are

:38:50. > :38:53.running out of water here add Lucerne. The British crew continue

:38:54. > :38:57.to throw everything, the kitchen sink, at it and it will go right to

:38:58. > :39:00.the line. The Australians are going to crack. They are coming under

:39:01. > :39:04.pressure. The Australians have cracked and the British have got a

:39:05. > :39:09.couple of strokes just to tease it. Look what they have done! They have

:39:10. > :39:14.caused the Australians to catch a crab on the line! That was the

:39:15. > :39:18.pressure led by the British crew. That is why Jurgen Grobler coaches

:39:19. > :39:23.the very best and makes the very best. And Alex Gregory new when it

:39:24. > :39:34.was all going dark that they picked it up. They don't know yet. Gregory

:39:35. > :39:38.threw his hat away. He threw it when they crossed the line and they

:39:39. > :39:42.thought they had lost. But they did not know the Australians had caught

:39:43. > :39:49.a crab. Look at the pain in Alex Gregory. That is unforgivable to do

:39:50. > :39:53.that at this level. Australia world silver medallists. It is like

:39:54. > :39:58.tripping over when you come to the 400 metres and you get to the last

:39:59. > :40:02.100 metres and you trip over. The quality in this group is so high

:40:03. > :40:06.that they shouldn't have done that. They are getting the confirmation.

:40:07. > :40:10.Do the British know that they have won? They are still looking around.

:40:11. > :40:14.The expectation was that the Australians made as fight for that

:40:15. > :40:17.and it was harder than it should have been. Win or lose, they will

:40:18. > :40:25.not be happy. Slightly happier having won. But to beat the

:40:26. > :40:30.Australians on the line and they had to make a mistake for the British to

:40:31. > :40:35.win. Nevertheless. They learned a huge amount about themselves in that

:40:36. > :40:39.race and that will be much more viable than winning the European

:40:40. > :40:43.Championships. By Rio, that'll be a real positive and good on them for

:40:44. > :40:47.being that far down. Yes, the Australians made a mistake, but not

:40:48. > :40:52.on their own. They were pushed into it by the relentless pressure of our

:40:53. > :40:58.boys in the last few hundred metres. It is very close. On the line. What

:40:59. > :41:11.a result for the British. Well, Steve, what a result for the

:41:12. > :41:15.British. A win is a win, but the talking point will be the Australian

:41:16. > :41:19.crowd in the last two strips. James and Gary said that was unforgivable.

:41:20. > :41:26.The pressure they were put under, as Gary said, as well, but they have

:41:27. > :41:29.almost perfect water here. It literally happened just right behind

:41:30. > :41:34.us and I was focusing on the British crew and we were catching a bit of

:41:35. > :41:37.water. We were struggling in those last few strokes. I thought they

:41:38. > :41:41.would come through and take the victory without that crab, and then

:41:42. > :41:46.I thought they wouldn't do it as they came past. Then that whopper

:41:47. > :41:50.that the Aussies caught. They are going to be disappointed with that,

:41:51. > :41:55.even with a spare on board. They would like to be dominating this

:41:56. > :41:59.event. If that was the silver, that was a good performance by carrying a

:42:00. > :42:05.sub, but they will not be happy with it but as supporters that is a very

:42:06. > :42:11.good result. What will Jurgen Grobler be saying to them? I think

:42:12. > :42:15.he will be patting them on the back and saying well done. Carrying a

:42:16. > :42:18.sub. They had if you training sessions and they knew they had a

:42:19. > :42:22.sub a few days ago. Not like some those that have been thrown into day

:42:23. > :42:27.with substitutions. Not the strongest person in the team coming

:42:28. > :42:34.in as the sub. He is much further down the ranking of a sweet rowing

:42:35. > :42:38.team. That is still a good performance. I think Jurgen Grobler

:42:39. > :42:43.will be disappointed they haven't dominated it but not grossly

:42:44. > :42:49.disappointed overall. Even with that situation, they are still in the

:42:50. > :42:53.first two. If the Australians didn't catch their crab. And they have

:42:54. > :42:59.taken the victory with the Aussies handing it to us. George Nash told

:43:00. > :43:06.about it in the film before the race. It is happening again and

:43:07. > :43:10.again. We have won since 2004, 2008, 2012, on it goes, and it is weighing

:43:11. > :43:16.heavier and heavier on these guys. Possibly. If you look back at the

:43:17. > :43:20.Olympic victories over the last four Games, they have been very narrow

:43:21. > :43:24.gaps. These guys have the opportunity to win by a very long

:43:25. > :43:29.way and if I was in that crew, that is what I would want to do. I want

:43:30. > :43:33.to make sure we are not winning by 0.08 of a second. I want to be one

:43:34. > :43:37.length in front of these guys, which I think they can be. I am losing

:43:38. > :43:48.concentration because the crew are coming. Well done. Callum,

:43:49. > :43:53.congratulations. Mo, how do you assess that performance? It was a

:43:54. > :43:56.pretty difficult race. We knew the Aussies were a strong crew and they

:43:57. > :43:59.went out and took the bull by the horn and we played catch up the

:44:00. > :44:04.whole way but I never thought they would beat us. Their play to the

:44:05. > :44:08.rest of the crew. They stuck with it and we didn't know if we had won,

:44:09. > :44:16.hence the exhilarating at celebrations at the end. When did

:44:17. > :44:19.Jurgen Grobler say that you are going in the four for Lucerne?

:44:20. > :44:27.Everybody does that impression of him! I got the call and that was

:44:28. > :44:31.exceptional. All credit to these boys. Absolutely incredible race. I

:44:32. > :44:35.actually thought we lost it on the line because the Australians were

:44:36. > :44:39.shouting that they had won. Then Jurgen Grobler goes, look at the

:44:40. > :44:46.board! I don't know if we can replay it for you but they caught a crab on

:44:47. > :44:55.the line. Two strokes from the line. Two man got one in the chin. How was

:44:56. > :45:01.it from the stroke seat, Alex? Not the normal way you have been rowing

:45:02. > :45:10.in fours in recent years? No, but like Mo said, it was never in doubt.

:45:11. > :45:15.I think we pretty much did a start and carried on that stuff. I don't

:45:16. > :45:21.think I have raced so hard in a race. Not the textbook way to race,

:45:22. > :45:27.but we have got Cal in the boat and he has been a superstar from day

:45:28. > :45:33.one. He slotted in no problems a pretty pleased with that.

:45:34. > :45:39.George, you said after the European Championships it was difficult to

:45:40. > :45:45.get all your power in the water. Your face tells me that you gave

:45:46. > :45:53.everything in that race. I managed to get in, it was a great effort.

:45:54. > :45:59.Are you now laying down a challenge for the stroke seat? I am sure

:46:00. > :46:07.Constantine is watching this, is the battle on? I am very happy for him

:46:08. > :46:12.to be in the seat if he wants it. I think today shows that whatever crew

:46:13. > :46:16.we put out, and this can happen at the Olympics, we can go out there

:46:17. > :46:22.and win whatever crew we put out and it is a very good sign. Listen, well

:46:23. > :46:26.done, that is a really fantastic performance. Enjoy the medal

:46:27. > :46:32.ceremony and we look forward to Rio and the improvements that are to

:46:33. > :46:38.come. Now we are going to turn our attention onto the women's eight.

:46:39. > :46:44.This is a live race happening out on the lake. I hope we can see them

:46:45. > :46:48.sitting out on the start. One of the few British crews that has not been

:46:49. > :47:01.affected by the illness. I will hand you over to our commentators.

:47:02. > :47:09.USA are in lane number three, the multi-world champions, the Olympic

:47:10. > :47:13.champions. They come through the collegiate system and it is very

:47:14. > :47:19.strong on the women's France. Time and again they produced top boats.

:47:20. > :47:29.But just maybe this year the British are coming together quite nicely. --

:47:30. > :47:33.on the women's front. Great Britain set as the current European

:47:34. > :47:41.champions. That is pretty impressive, a good benchmark to

:47:42. > :47:45.have. Canada are bronze medallists. They have been medalled many times

:47:46. > :47:50.at the Olympics and World Championships. A very strong field,

:47:51. > :47:57.USA to the right and Canada to the left of the British. We just home in

:47:58. > :48:12.on the Olympic champions from the United States. We are coming under

:48:13. > :48:32.starter's orders. Just a little bit of a breeze, a very big day here.

:48:33. > :48:44.Waiting for the starter from the tower block behind.

:48:45. > :48:51.James, the expectation on the British crew, we expect them to

:48:52. > :48:56.medal here if they are going to step up again and be real medal

:48:57. > :49:02.contenders. If they are to be medal contenders, they have to step up

:49:03. > :49:05.here. Three of the five crews are not European nations, so they will

:49:06. > :49:10.be racing for the first time and they will know where they are on a

:49:11. > :49:19.global level. There are two very interested spectators in Katherine

:49:20. > :49:28.Grainger and Helen Glover watching at home. They are poised and they

:49:29. > :49:32.are ready to go. New Zealand are the world's silver medallists. USA are

:49:33. > :49:36.the world champions, the defending champions and the current Olympic

:49:37. > :49:45.champions. Great Britain are the European champions. Canada is driven

:49:46. > :49:50.by Lesley Thomson Wylie who was coxing in 1992. She has been a real

:49:51. > :50:02.stalwart for the women's eights since then. The British crew have

:50:03. > :50:10.had a good start so far. By a couple of feet at these early stages the

:50:11. > :50:13.USA lead. At the European Championships the British were

:50:14. > :50:18.laying down on the Dutch at halfway. If they row like that here, they

:50:19. > :50:25.will be almost two length down on the Americans. So really set a poor

:50:26. > :50:31.start at the European Championships was an anomaly and they would not be

:50:32. > :50:44.at those situations here. So fire they are true to their word. The

:50:45. > :50:49.British crew are looking very strong because they are looking long, they

:50:50. > :50:56.have got good length. Great Britain are on the heels of the Olympic and

:50:57. > :51:00.world champions by one foot. The Olympic champions are leading Great

:51:01. > :51:09.Britain. Canada are in the bronze medal position. Now it is all about

:51:10. > :51:15.consolidating into the second 500 metres, particularly with the eight

:51:16. > :51:21.because it is a sprint event. So much riding on the individual

:51:22. > :51:24.members of the crew, but also the expectations that the supporters,

:51:25. > :51:32.friends and family have. They know they have to deliver. Look how they

:51:33. > :51:37.have taken out almost half a length. Lane number five, Canada, are

:51:38. > :51:42.slipping back. So far, so good. But if you look at the same picture, the

:51:43. > :51:47.Americans have taken half a length and New Zealand has come back. There

:51:48. > :51:59.are three other boats you have to worry about. The eights, yes, it is

:52:00. > :52:06.a sprint race, but this is an incredibly impressive first 500. But

:52:07. > :52:12.the New Zealanders are sneaking back up on them. This is only 25% of the

:52:13. > :52:18.race. We are coming up to the 50% of the race. A good benchmark for the

:52:19. > :52:23.British crew. They went through the first time in two feet down on the

:52:24. > :52:28.Americans. The Americans are the Olympic champions and they have

:52:29. > :52:39.stepped up in that second 500. New Zealand are coming back hard on the

:52:40. > :52:43.tails of the British crew. Fran is going for her fifth Olympic Games.

:52:44. > :52:49.She does not look that relax, but halfway through the race you would

:52:50. > :52:55.not be relaxed. In terms of building for the Olympics, if they can come

:52:56. > :52:58.away with a silvery here, that would be very impressive. This would be a

:52:59. > :53:06.really good platform for whatever will happen going forward. A silver

:53:07. > :53:15.would be a solid benchmark for everyone. The British crew now have

:53:16. > :53:20.to really nailed this third 500. Four of the American eight have

:53:21. > :53:25.already raised in this regatta. Two in the Kiwi eight have already

:53:26. > :53:32.raised, so there are tired legs in those boats. There are fresh legs in

:53:33. > :53:38.the British crew. They will be called upon now. Psychologically

:53:39. > :53:42.this is a real battle. Look at the black vote, just stalking up through

:53:43. > :53:50.Great Britain. Now they have a target on the United States. The

:53:51. > :53:56.stroke rate is three more than the British. That is a significant

:53:57. > :54:02.amount. You are wondering whether the British are paying for that

:54:03. > :54:07.first 500 metres. I am all for going out of the blocks as hard as you

:54:08. > :54:13.can, so well done for them doing it, but you have to pace it. New Zealand

:54:14. > :54:34.have done a very good job of that. Now the British nudge ahead. The

:54:35. > :54:39.British have responded. It is a phenomenal, combination of girls who

:54:40. > :54:43.have come together. Coming away from the European Championships has given

:54:44. > :54:49.them a sense of renewed confidence. They are responding again. The

:54:50. > :54:54.confidence from the European Championships will make them believe

:54:55. > :55:06.that they can come from a position down. Now both boats are closing on

:55:07. > :55:10.the Americans. That is about 150 metres remaining. It is very

:55:11. > :55:18.unlikely that the British will get the Americans. But the British are

:55:19. > :55:22.coming and up goes the rate. The Americans are tiring. Surely they

:55:23. > :55:28.will not do this. The last few strokes. Great Britain get the

:55:29. > :55:34.silver and they should be very proud of that, taking out New Zealand.

:55:35. > :55:38.There was a moment 100 metres out from the line when the gold medal

:55:39. > :55:45.was on. Fantastic racing from the British group. Sore legs. Perhaps

:55:46. > :55:51.that took it out of them in the closing 200. There was a moment when

:55:52. > :55:59.they needed one more push. I am not saying they are not right on the

:56:00. > :56:04.edge because they absolutely are. They will come away from Lucerne

:56:05. > :56:08.with their heads held high. This really is a benchmark because they

:56:09. > :56:14.have beaten New Zealand who were silver medallists last year. They

:56:15. > :56:21.took it out hard and they took it in hard, said that is brilliant. They

:56:22. > :56:27.put themselves in that position and face the challenge of the Kiwi and

:56:28. > :56:30.they've dealt with that and then charged on the Americans. They have

:56:31. > :56:40.given the selectors the real headache going forward! There is

:56:41. > :56:47.doubling up going on. The Americans are a class boat. They have had a

:56:48. > :56:56.history of doubling up. They have the experience. But the British crew

:56:57. > :57:03.look really good. They looked good in the first 500. But to be able to

:57:04. > :57:10.forge on and not let their heads go down. That is really tough racing

:57:11. > :57:16.and they should be pleased with that. When it has got tough, they

:57:17. > :57:20.have answered the questions. They have got 68 days to sort the crew

:57:21. > :57:30.out and make sure they are on the top of the podium at rear. Good on

:57:31. > :57:39.them. Absolutely, it is a fantastic era for the women's eight. It is all

:57:40. > :57:44.coming together. Not a bad day at the

:57:45. > :57:49.Garry mentioned that has given a headache to the selectors. A superb

:57:50. > :57:54.performance. A fantastic performance. I was disappointed with

:57:55. > :58:03.the European performance of three weeks ago. Where they won. Where

:58:04. > :58:11.they won, but they only beat fifth and sixth place, that was a bit more

:58:12. > :58:20.impressive. We knew Canada was a bit shaky because they got beaten at the

:58:21. > :58:28.first race by the Dutch. You thought the Canadians may not have adjusted

:58:29. > :58:37.to the travel, but they did not have the pace here. The Americans were

:58:38. > :58:40.doubling up, half the crew were doubling up, they have doubled up in

:58:41. > :58:48.the history of them dealing the eighth. It is normally just two

:58:49. > :58:52.girls, not half the boat. We know the Dutch were quick and the Dutch

:58:53. > :58:56.got beaten by the Romanians. But there is a medal and I thought that

:58:57. > :59:02.was a brilliant performance. After the European Championships British

:59:03. > :59:06.rowing came out and said that Granger and Thornbury would not be

:59:07. > :59:10.in the double, they will be considered for the eighth. How will

:59:11. > :59:15.that have sat with those eight members of the crew who were

:59:16. > :59:18.preparing for Lucerne at the time. Some will think, good, we have got

:59:19. > :59:25.potentially stronger athletes coming in. But people will be thinking, it

:59:26. > :59:30.might be my seat that is up for grabs by somebody else, and they

:59:31. > :59:35.have raised their game. It will be difficult to change anybody within

:59:36. > :59:41.that. As the commentator said, the selectors have problems. James and

:59:42. > :59:45.Garry, this is not only a headache, how do you run a selection procedure

:59:46. > :59:52.for an eight with less than ten weeks to go before the Olympics? The

:59:53. > :59:56.coaches will have their gut feeling. They have an individual performance

:59:57. > :00:02.parameters for the whole squad, so they have got those two draw on. I

:00:03. > :00:06.do not think any of us expected the women's eight to be in this

:00:07. > :00:10.position, that close to the Americans, a silver medal at

:00:11. > :00:15.Lucerne. The eight can only get stronger. They have got to make the

:00:16. > :00:19.right to change, but it is not as though you are going to lose people

:00:20. > :00:27.to the women's double, you will gain people. What they have to do now, as

:00:28. > :00:30.Steve said, they raised again for the European Championships to hear,

:00:31. > :00:35.change or no change they have to have that believe that they can take

:00:36. > :00:41.on the Americans for 2000 metres, not just sections of the race. Are

:00:42. > :00:49.we moving the women's eight from a possible Olympic medal into a

:00:50. > :00:53.probable category? Without a doubt. Zoe has got her place sorted. She

:00:54. > :00:58.must be thinking, silver medal today, it can only get stronger.

:00:59. > :01:04.They have to believe that from now on. In rowing terms, in sporting

:01:05. > :01:08.terms, it would be a disaster from here if they do not get it. The

:01:09. > :01:22.pieces are all coming together. Would the coach asked the cops which

:01:23. > :01:27.boat felt best to you? Zoe will give feedback in all of that. It is one

:01:28. > :01:32.race. They will have a lot of information. They have the

:01:33. > :01:37.information in the ergometer from the winter. It will not just be the

:01:38. > :01:40.flip of the coin in all of this and they will know. They cannot test it

:01:41. > :01:45.in the vote right now but I think the selectors will have a good idea

:01:46. > :01:50.about who the weaker rowers are. Without a doubt, I would be

:01:51. > :01:57.seriously disappointed if that eight doesn't come away from the Olympics

:01:58. > :02:02.without a medal. Just to jump in, yes, sometimes you can put stronger

:02:03. > :02:06.athletes in, but it doesn't always make the boat go faster. There is,

:02:07. > :02:16.Rhodri and spirit within a boat as well and that has got to be taken

:02:17. > :02:20.into the occasion. -- camaraderie. Do you think that Vicky Thornley and

:02:21. > :02:25.Katherine Grainger will be in the women's aid for Rio definitely? I

:02:26. > :02:29.can't say definitely. On paper and on testing they are at the top end

:02:30. > :02:37.of the team. That puts them at the top end of the eighth. As athletes

:02:38. > :02:41.they are good enough to be in that group, but that doesn't always

:02:42. > :02:49.materialise in boat speed. You would hope that putting stronger athletes

:02:50. > :02:52.in, especially into an age where big ergometer scores count, that that

:02:53. > :03:02.would translate into performance. Great silver medal, dominating the

:03:03. > :03:07.Canadians in bronze, and I will cut it there!

:03:08. > :03:14.I will hand over to the commentators. What a professional

:03:15. > :03:21.you are! We turn our attention to the men's doubled. Two British crews

:03:22. > :03:26.in this, Jack Beaumont and Nicholas Middleton and Jonny Watson and John

:03:27. > :03:36.Collins. I know exactly what you were talking about! The bricks in

:03:37. > :03:40.lanes number one and two. Martin Sinkovic and his brother in lane

:03:41. > :03:44.four. New Zealand in five and Lithuania in lane and Lithuania

:03:45. > :03:50.inlay number six. Again this is a very good set of results. Great

:03:51. > :03:55.Britain have got two boats. Jack Beaumont has raced already, in the

:03:56. > :04:00.bow seat in the quadruple sculls. Here he is with Nicholas Middleton

:04:01. > :04:07.inlay number one. These guys are the guys for the future. They have had a

:04:08. > :04:12.sensational last 18 months. Beaumont and Middleton. That in amongst it

:04:13. > :04:16.they will get great experience. Watson and Collins was sixth in the

:04:17. > :04:20.European champions recently and eight at the Worlds, but they need

:04:21. > :04:26.to step it up because they have young bucks on their tail. Marcel

:04:27. > :04:30.Hacker and Stephan Krueger from Germany, silver medallists, in the

:04:31. > :04:33.middle of your picture inlay number three. The outstanding crew in a

:04:34. > :04:38.multicoloured chessboard, the Croatians. They really have been the

:04:39. > :04:45.crew to watch. Everybody is excited about what they are doing here in

:04:46. > :04:49.the skull. Yes, the Croatian brothers are phenomenal. The way

:04:50. > :04:53.they have dominated the field over 18 months is impressive. The British

:04:54. > :04:58.doubles are young bucks, but the Croatians are the same age. As good

:04:59. > :05:02.and young as the British boys are, they could be racing the Croatian

:05:03. > :05:09.guys for the next ten years and at the moment they have ground to make

:05:10. > :05:13.up. It is not surprising that Watson and Collins are leading at the

:05:14. > :05:20.moment. As strong as Nick Middleton is, Jack Beaumont has already done

:05:21. > :05:31.metres race already which will take some out. This is turning into a

:05:32. > :05:42.decent scrap. The Croatians are being led by half a length. Croatia

:05:43. > :05:47.valiant in the stroke seat. Martin Sinkovic in the bow street. Pressure

:05:48. > :05:56.being put on them by New Zealand. The expectation in the middle 1000,

:05:57. > :05:59.if you are undefeated, two years world champions... Actually in 2015

:06:00. > :06:05.in the European Championships they pulled out. They won at the first

:06:06. > :06:09.World Cup regatta earlier in the season. When they do race, they blow

:06:10. > :06:14.the field apart. Coming up to the halfway mark, you would expect some

:06:15. > :06:21.kind of fireworks now. The two time world champions from Croatia. They

:06:22. > :06:30.need to turn the handle a bit. They are led into it by New Zealand.

:06:31. > :06:36.Marcel Hacker at 31 the oldest guy in this line-up. The Croatians have

:06:37. > :06:43.stopped the rot, if you can call being half a second down the rot.

:06:44. > :06:47.They have held the New Zealanders leading into halfway. The third 500,

:06:48. > :06:55.this is where they will push into the lead again, I think. Croatia

:06:56. > :07:02.coming away now from Germany. Clearwater developing. They are

:07:03. > :07:06.putting their own pressure on. Looking so much nicer from a

:07:07. > :07:10.Croatian point of view. This wing of the backstroke and it runs nicely.

:07:11. > :07:17.Marcel Hacker to the right of your picture. He looks relaxed. He is a

:07:18. > :07:19.wily old character. World Champion back in the day in the single skull

:07:20. > :07:39.and plenty of medals under his belt. Jonny Walton and Collins as well. I

:07:40. > :07:47.think for New Zealand the goose is cooked. They are poking the big bear

:07:48. > :07:51.with a stick. I think they will reap the anger of the Croatian crew. This

:07:52. > :07:59.crew do not give you an easy ride. They don't just win. They show their

:08:00. > :08:03.class. 500 metres to go and the Kiwis are holding up well. I expect

:08:04. > :08:07.the Croatians will have clear water by the end. There is a fight here

:08:08. > :08:11.but it will be a big turnaround for Jonny Walton and John Collins to

:08:12. > :08:15.hang on. It is like they are fighting just to hang onto the pack.

:08:16. > :08:19.The Germans alone another three and Lithuania in number six, they have

:08:20. > :08:22.been out of the picture but they have been in amongst it for the

:08:23. > :08:31.medals in the closing stages here. Out front, Croatia continue. They

:08:32. > :08:38.are powering on. They have got the speed. They want to win by clear

:08:39. > :08:42.water. We can compare where Great Britain is, slightly back on

:08:43. > :08:52.Germany. Great Britain have got to watch out for Lithuania. Up to 41

:08:53. > :08:57.strokes per minute, 300 metres out. Great Britain on 40, so brave to

:08:58. > :09:01.take it on here. Support for Jonny Walton and John Collins, just to get

:09:02. > :09:06.a good result psychologically for them. They have not had an easy time

:09:07. > :09:12.over the last couple of years. They have cemented it again in this event

:09:13. > :09:20.in this boat. Anything above fourth place would be a good result for the

:09:21. > :09:24.British doubles. 50 out now. Croatia starting to ease off. They know they

:09:25. > :09:27.have got control. New Zealand holding off from Lithuania, who have

:09:28. > :09:32.been out of the picture, coming through and getting the bronze

:09:33. > :09:37.medal. Germany starting to suffer in fourth place. There was too much in

:09:38. > :09:43.the closing 50 metres for Jonny Walton and John Collins for Great

:09:44. > :09:46.Britain. Jack Beaumont and Nick Middleton just suffering now. The

:09:47. > :09:56.pain in his legs must be too much. They come over and finished now. We

:09:57. > :10:00.are joined by three members of the women's silver medal winning eight.

:10:01. > :10:04.How was that performance? Really good. We wanted to win the race, to

:10:05. > :10:09.be honest, so we have that in our sights for Rio. That is probably the

:10:10. > :10:14.best we have done against the world Olympic champions. Just if you

:10:15. > :10:17.inches short of them. Polly, you were saying before the race about

:10:18. > :10:24.your back and the injury and this has been a long road for this unit.

:10:25. > :10:30.Sure. We formed quite late compared to some crews. We are relatively

:10:31. > :10:34.new. Some girls including myself have been injured. So to be able to

:10:35. > :10:39.form such a great unit, and it really is a great unit, is

:10:40. > :10:44.tantamount to the girls, all nine of us and our coaches. We are

:10:45. > :10:51.delighted, but as Jeff said, we want one better at Rio. The challenge now

:10:52. > :10:54.is coming for this group of athletes, this group of mentalities,

:10:55. > :10:59.that selection is up in the air again in the coming weeks between

:11:00. > :11:02.now and Rio. Yes, there is a question of selection, but as we

:11:03. > :11:06.have shown from this performance, this crew is capable of winning a

:11:07. > :11:09.gold medal at Rio and I strongly believe that if the crew is made

:11:10. > :11:13.stronger in the next few weeks, that is great, but if this is the

:11:14. > :11:17.strongest crew we have, then I am really happy about it and really

:11:18. > :11:23.excited for the next few months. What were you saying to the crew in

:11:24. > :11:34.the last 300 metres? I don't know. I am cold to finish so we can go in? I

:11:35. > :11:37.am still deaf in my left ear. Go quicker? You need to go and get your

:11:38. > :11:44.medal. Congratulations. As they exit stage left, we turn our attention to

:11:45. > :11:52.the man's single and one of the most enduring and passionate growers that

:11:53. > :11:59.the men have. Alan Campbell. The men's single girls being chased hard

:12:00. > :12:03.by Drysdale from New Zealand. The Olympic champion, the two guys here,

:12:04. > :12:11.have dominated this event over the last ten years. Five-time World

:12:12. > :12:15.Champion. In this third 500 metres, this is where we would really expect

:12:16. > :12:23.him to push them hard. He knows how to work the third 500. As a world

:12:24. > :12:27.and Olympic champion, he has the overlap and he is maintaining that.

:12:28. > :12:34.He will hound the World Champion throughout this third portion. He is

:12:35. > :12:57.looking over at Drysdale. Taking two more strokes a minute

:12:58. > :13:03.than Drysdale. Drysdale has held Synek's move. My feeling is this

:13:04. > :13:09.will be level with 200 metres to go. Both scullers working into a race of

:13:10. > :13:14.their own. The bottom picture shows the speed of the finishing skull

:13:15. > :13:17.Alan Campbell in a number six. If we can get a wide angle, we can see

:13:18. > :13:21.where he is, but at the moment he went through the halfway mark in

:13:22. > :13:27.fourth place. He will need to turn the screw. We are respecting a big

:13:28. > :13:31.push from him. 1500 metres. The man's single sculls final. But at

:13:32. > :13:38.the gap between the two leading scullers in the world right now and

:13:39. > :13:40.Alan Campbell in bottom left of York screen coming through in fifth, so

:13:41. > :13:46.well off the medals at this point. If he has a big 250, he might be in

:13:47. > :13:49.contention with the Dutch skull, Broenik, who was 14th at the

:13:50. > :14:00.European Championships three weeks ago. Synek has responded well.

:14:01. > :14:07.Drysdale nearly closed in on. Drysdale's approach is this. It is

:14:08. > :14:11.like a lumberjack chopping his way through a massive tree. 2000 metres

:14:12. > :14:17.to get that treat down. You all start off at eight brochures pace

:14:18. > :14:23.but the tree is starting to give and Synek will be crushed under it if he

:14:24. > :14:28.is not careful. The Cuban is fighting it out for the bronze medal

:14:29. > :14:32.alongside Broenik from the Netherlands in low number one. Look

:14:33. > :14:37.at that face. Relentless from Drysdale. The Olympic champion has

:14:38. > :14:47.clawed his way back. Now he is driving the nail in the coffin here.

:14:48. > :14:51.Synek has given up. The pain that Drysdale is feeling, he is

:14:52. > :14:55.inflicting more of it on Synek and he has broken Synek. This memory

:14:56. > :15:01.will serve Drysdale in Rio and Synek will remember how he got broken, so

:15:02. > :15:07.this is a massive nail in the coffin for Synek in Rio. Both scullers

:15:08. > :15:10.easing off, and Drysdale knows that his first appearance in 2016 has

:15:11. > :15:16.been exactly what was called for. He has nailed Synek of the Czech

:15:17. > :15:22.Republic. Rodriguez gets the bronze medal. These three float over the

:15:23. > :15:26.line. Alan Campbell, well, he is fifth, which is much better than he

:15:27. > :15:31.was three weeks ago. And he went for it. Third place just before the

:15:32. > :15:40.halfway mark. He went for it and found out where he is at. Where he

:15:41. > :15:44.is at is not where he wants to be. Drysdale, Synek and Rodriguez in

:15:45. > :15:57.first, second and third. I have written out Alan Campbell's

:15:58. > :16:04.International results. Six, seven, four, five, second, third, third,

:16:05. > :16:11.bronze in London, fourth and eighth last year. With that parabola do we

:16:12. > :16:16.think it is beyond hope that he will get on the podium? It is very

:16:17. > :16:21.unlikely, but reading at those results come he has been in our

:16:22. > :16:26.sculling team for many years. Maybe as it is going the wrong way, even

:16:27. > :16:30.though this is a good performance on the last couple of years, and it has

:16:31. > :16:34.given him hope, I chatted to him yesterday and he is buoyant and

:16:35. > :16:39.confident, but we have other sculling boat that are doing well.

:16:40. > :16:44.Yes, I think it is impossible for him to get onto the podium. And a

:16:45. > :16:49.word about men's sculling in general. As the senior member he

:16:50. > :16:57.leads that team. How many medals should we expect from the single,

:16:58. > :17:02.the double, the quad in Rio but? If we get one medal that would be a

:17:03. > :17:06.fantastic result. You have got to put the quadruple at the top, then

:17:07. > :17:11.the double and bend the single. Or on their day you cannot write any of

:17:12. > :17:16.them off. Hopefully, fingers crossed, one quad medal. Let's turn

:17:17. > :17:22.our attention to the lightweight men's doubles. William Fletcher and

:17:23. > :17:32.Richard Chambers are in this. We talked to Richard. Has the hand

:17:33. > :17:37.injury stalled any preparations? It has upset it a little bit, but it is

:17:38. > :17:42.one of these things. Things knock you off course and you have to get

:17:43. > :17:47.back on. It meant I could not do trials, but as soon as it happened I

:17:48. > :17:50.got straight on the bike and I have been training whilst the rest of the

:17:51. > :17:58.team have been prepping and doing trials. Your team-mates will suggest

:17:59. > :18:04.the links you go to to miss the trials! Is there more pressure going

:18:05. > :18:09.into the Olympics but in my in terms of selection this year it has been

:18:10. > :18:14.less so because we formed ourselves as a good double last year and the

:18:15. > :18:18.coaches had the confidence in us to carry that on. We have had through

:18:19. > :18:23.the winter months the time in the doubled that we did not have last

:18:24. > :18:28.year, so they are giving us every opportunity they can to go and beat

:18:29. > :18:31.Olympic champions. That is a different kind of pressure. That

:18:32. > :18:35.relationship that you built last year in the boat culminated in that

:18:36. > :18:44.terrific final at the World Championships. It is France and

:18:45. > :18:47.Great Britain. Do you feel you are better equipped now to move up one

:18:48. > :18:54.step higher on the podium? Definitely. We went into the world

:18:55. > :18:59.champions last year and we did not have a clean run with checkups and

:19:00. > :19:04.injuries. Two guys sculling in two different ways and we were physical

:19:05. > :19:09.and muscled the boat along. Now we have honed in on the finesse and the

:19:10. > :19:18.technique, but also will has moved on physically. I have even more

:19:19. > :19:27.confidence in my team-mate and that is great for me. Through the 1000

:19:28. > :19:42.metres, the halfway mark in the men's lightweight double sculls.

:19:43. > :20:25.That should scare the opposition. If you are breaking up a World

:20:26. > :20:30.Championship crew, your new man has to be pretty good. If you are making

:20:31. > :20:39.the best in the world better, this is what happens. The Norwegians have

:20:40. > :20:42.had a good winter. The Norwegians do a lot of training with the

:20:43. > :20:50.lightweight double and they are doing very well. The Irish

:20:51. > :20:57.lightweight double, one of them is as strong as heavyweight. It has not

:20:58. > :21:03.quite transferred into the boat yet, but it is looking very good. There

:21:04. > :21:10.is still clear water from France over the former world champions,

:21:11. > :21:15.Norway. This could be an extraordinary last 500 metres for

:21:16. > :21:21.the British. France have gone. They can still be caught by the

:21:22. > :21:32.Norwegians. They are in lane number four. The South Africans are in Lane

:21:33. > :21:41.number two, both 29 years of age, both Olympic champions in the light

:21:42. > :21:46.four in London. Fletcher and Chambers in five on the other side

:21:47. > :21:52.of the course. Now they come to wards the closing stages. You can

:21:53. > :21:59.see how the French have responded to Norway's push. The French are very

:22:00. > :22:05.efficient. In the middle part of the race they will be fast and it has

:22:06. > :22:16.not cost them. They are sending the message to the rest of the world.

:22:17. > :22:21.Their technique has not changed. It is good to see if the Irish could

:22:22. > :22:27.back up their European Championships. They are strong boys,

:22:28. > :22:30.so we will see what happens. So France are out in the front and the

:22:31. > :22:36.Irish are pushing on hard against Norway. It is silvered to Norway and

:22:37. > :22:41.South Africa are taking the bronze. The Irish get for. It will be a

:22:42. > :22:47.disappointment for William Fletcher and Richard Chambers, but remember

:22:48. > :22:55.this is their first time out in this Olympic year. They have got one more

:22:56. > :23:02.regatta in three weeks' time. On the day France win. They looked

:23:03. > :23:21.devastating, a new combination. There are DOS lightweight offence

:23:22. > :23:25.for the men in Rio. The lightweight men's four is the other one and they

:23:26. > :23:39.raced this morning as well. Let's see how they got on.

:23:40. > :23:50.This is where we watch in this third 500 who goes first and how you go.

:23:51. > :23:58.Do you step up and increase the boat speed? You can start to see at the

:23:59. > :24:06.top of your picture the French, the bronze medallists from last year.

:24:07. > :24:10.They have been taken on by Switzerland, the world and European

:24:11. > :24:14.champions. New Zealand are in Lane number three. They won the first

:24:15. > :24:24.heat. You expect the heat winners, the fastest qualifiers in the final

:24:25. > :24:31.and they are showing why they got first in the heat. The French knew

:24:32. > :24:39.they had to take a risk early on and go out hard. That has not worked.

:24:40. > :24:46.The Swiss are very good in the last half of the race. But they will be

:24:47. > :24:53.disappointed to be a lengthy behind New Zealand. Great Britain are still

:24:54. > :25:03.in fifth position. Netherlands are in Lane number six out of your shot.

:25:04. > :25:09.Britain are forth now. 1500 metres remaining. New Zealand are out in

:25:10. > :25:26.first. Chambers is in the stroke seat for

:25:27. > :25:31.Great Britain. They will need a push to get through the Danes in Lane

:25:32. > :25:36.four. Still pushing hard on the fireside, France in Lane number one,

:25:37. > :25:47.the bronze medallists from last year. I think the Swiss will try and

:25:48. > :25:51.close the gap on New Zealand. If they close the gap, that will give

:25:52. > :26:01.them something to go for as they prepare for Rio. I do not think the

:26:02. > :26:06.British will catch the Danes. On home water is Switzerland Lane

:26:07. > :26:11.number two. They are responding to the cowbells, the traditional home

:26:12. > :26:17.support noise. New Zealand continued to lead and Denmark is being put

:26:18. > :26:23.under pressure from Great Britain in Lane number five. New Zealand are

:26:24. > :26:28.out at front and they are coming up to the line. Switzerland being put

:26:29. > :26:34.under a tremendous amount of pressure from Denmark. Denmark are

:26:35. > :26:39.just shy and Great Britain are caught on the fireside by the French

:26:40. > :26:44.and that is very disappointing for the British crew and their heads go

:26:45. > :26:47.down accordingly. A tremendous result from New Zealand coming

:26:48. > :26:56.through in fine form in that last 250 metres. 5.3 seconds is too far

:26:57. > :27:07.off the lead. Paul Thomson is the chief coach of

:27:08. > :27:15.the lightweight. A quick reaction to the men's double and four. It is a

:27:16. > :27:20.good step, but that was not their best race today. Their heat was

:27:21. > :27:25.better than that. Not quite the right rhythm, but we can do better

:27:26. > :27:32.than that. An update on the women's lightweight double which is absent.

:27:33. > :27:35.They were a bit cooked going into Brandenburg, but they are on a

:27:36. > :27:41.recovery programme and we are looking for them to make their mark.

:27:42. > :27:49.When did you take the decision about the women's double sculls? That was

:27:50. > :27:54.after Brandenburg and part of the review. Strategically we have got a

:27:55. > :27:59.fabulous women's here who could not race today to illness, but we are

:28:00. > :28:04.looking to push into the middle with the two qualifying boat behind that

:28:05. > :28:08.and the eight and the double. We are not going to talk about the

:28:09. > :28:13.selection procedure, because the athletes have not been told, but

:28:14. > :28:17.that has raised the question of where you not worried that the

:28:18. > :28:26.women's eight were racing under a cloud because of the selection

:28:27. > :28:30.procedure that is about to happen? Yes, of course, the athletes want to

:28:31. > :28:38.have the best people in the boat and the best boat to perform in Rio as

:28:39. > :28:43.well. Yes, I ensure it has been uncomfortable for some, but they the

:28:44. > :28:49.bigger picture as well. When was the last time that Katherine Grainger

:28:50. > :29:01.Road Suite internationally? Do you mean head of the child? No, I do not

:29:02. > :29:10.mean that. It must be 2004. So we expect to see her in sweep capacity?

:29:11. > :29:18.Her accumulated score is the best amongst the group that we have got

:29:19. > :29:21.out racing in those boats. They have been training in sweep boats, so we

:29:22. > :29:30.can get the groups together when we get back. I do not know if you can

:29:31. > :29:35.answer this, but with the double skull, will that be put on after the

:29:36. > :29:44.final of the eight? How will that come in? Clearly we will look at the

:29:45. > :29:50.eighth and see where that gets to concede what happens with the

:29:51. > :29:54.double. I am happy with the standard of those two boats, and I have got a

:29:55. > :29:58.lot of confidence in those athletes, but we need to see where we get to

:29:59. > :30:00.in the next few weeks. We sent Darren Campbell along to meet the

:30:01. > :30:18.men's chief coach Jurgen Grobbelaar. Do you see yourself as a coach,

:30:19. > :30:24.mental, manager? Maybe everything a little bit. You have to be a coach,

:30:25. > :30:30.you have to be a manager and amend tour as well to give advice. You

:30:31. > :30:38.have to be a psychologist, there are a lot of different parts that make

:30:39. > :30:43.an overall good coach. In the sporting world, which coaches do you

:30:44. > :30:53.admire? I was always impressed with Sir Ferguson. I think patients,

:30:54. > :30:57.staying in that job, staying in football and managing that for 25

:30:58. > :31:05.years successfully, I always think that is something challenging. Is it

:31:06. > :31:11.one of the toughest jobs, managing egos yes, I think so, especially

:31:12. > :31:15.when you are bringing guys together with different characters and

:31:16. > :31:25.different strengths and weaknesses, I think that is a big challenge.

:31:26. > :31:32.Could you give me three characteristics that helped to build

:31:33. > :31:36.an Olympic champion? First, they must like the sport because doing

:31:37. > :31:43.high-performance sport is not always sunshine. It is tough, hard work,

:31:44. > :31:50.daily work, it is not just talking, you have to do it. The third thing

:31:51. > :31:55.with all the pain and the problems, you should still have fun. If you do

:31:56. > :32:02.not have fun and you are not finding the fun in your sport, and fun is

:32:03. > :32:03.for me when you go home you are totally exhausted, that is why you

:32:04. > :32:15.are here. That is part of the plan. You mention Sir Alex Ferguson

:32:16. > :32:21.earlier. How does it make you feel when people call you the greatest? I

:32:22. > :32:24.leave that to other people. The coach doesn't get any thing for

:32:25. > :32:31.being the greatest. I have to do it again and again. I leave it to other

:32:32. > :32:34.people. There are lots of other great coaches out there and you have

:32:35. > :32:46.to be in the moment the greatest, not what you did in the past. Now we

:32:47. > :32:50.can see is a man's eights loaded up on the starting pontoon for their

:32:51. > :32:59.race. I will hand you over to James Cracknell and Garry Herbert. Thank

:33:00. > :33:03.you. Russia in a number one, Great Britain in two, Netherlands in

:33:04. > :33:07.three, splitting the great rivalry in this category over the last

:33:08. > :33:11.couple of years, because Germany, European champions this year, are

:33:12. > :33:17.number four. New Zealand five and USA in lane number six. The clatter

:33:18. > :33:26.of the start and through the first 100 metres. 45 strokes per minute.

:33:27. > :33:32.Maximum spread. The real exponents of doing that in the first 100

:33:33. > :33:36.metres Germany. Germany found some form in the European Championships

:33:37. > :33:43.but mainly because the British eight, Jurgen Grobler, he has the

:33:44. > :33:49.engine out of the team that won gold last year and put it into the four

:33:50. > :33:56.but still a pretty smart eight. Yes. Changes had to be made. We have

:33:57. > :34:00.depth on both sides of the rowing and sculling equation. The bottom

:34:01. > :34:06.line is that even with only one person out of the eight, you are

:34:07. > :34:13.dealing with tiny margins. The good news is that if they can pull a good

:34:14. > :34:17.result out here, that gives a huge amount of confidence going forwards.

:34:18. > :34:25.New Zealand has problems. They looked good yesterday but not quite

:34:26. > :34:34.so good in the heat. The Dutch had a stonking heat, so all to play for.

:34:35. > :34:41.The Green vote of Germany is sitting currently in fifth position. --

:34:42. > :34:53.green boat. The crew is settling into their rhythm. They have

:34:54. > :34:59.switched if you people around. Tom Ransley has moved from seventh to

:35:00. > :35:04.three. Matt Langridge has just come in after being ill. They are not at

:35:05. > :35:09.100% in terms of full capacity but they will still be very competitive.

:35:10. > :35:14.The assumption saying that it is that every other boat is totally

:35:15. > :35:21.free from illness. When athletes are training this hard, on the

:35:22. > :35:26.boundaries, pushing so hard, nobody will be 100% until they get to the

:35:27. > :35:29.Olympics. You would be wrong to assume every crew is totally healthy

:35:30. > :35:39.but at the same time you know that the British crew is not at full

:35:40. > :35:42.strength. It is going to show. At the last Olympics, Germany were

:35:43. > :35:51.undefeated through to London and won the gold. They are being pushed hard

:35:52. > :36:00.as we reach the 1000 metres mark in the final at Lucerne. Great Britain

:36:01. > :36:05.still in amongst it in fourth place. Not too bad for the British crew.

:36:06. > :36:10.They can step up here. But in the race for lanes earlier in the

:36:11. > :36:16.regatta, the Dutch beat the Germans. It was a surprise. We were saying

:36:17. > :36:19.that nobody turns it on in the race for lanes but the Dutch did. The

:36:20. > :36:28.Germans have got to do something here. And the Americans as well. You

:36:29. > :36:33.mentioned the top four British guys in the four, and the top four

:36:34. > :36:38.American guys are in the American four, and they have had a very good

:36:39. > :36:41.second 500 and they are ahead of Germany, Britain and New Zealand at

:36:42. > :36:46.the Dutch are having a great race. Different crews are finding their

:36:47. > :36:48.form and they want to lay a marker down for the Olympics. How they do

:36:49. > :36:55.in this regatta goes towards how they do in the heats for the

:36:56. > :37:02.Olympics. The Germans thinking they might have it slightly easier with

:37:03. > :37:08.the British not 100%, they now are being chased by Holland and America

:37:09. > :37:13.as well as Britain and New Zealand so an interesting last 800 metres.

:37:14. > :37:18.An Olympic qualification regatta at the beginning of this week for the

:37:19. > :37:22.final booking, and the United States got that one and they are taking it

:37:23. > :37:29.on. The crew is starting to come back on the Dutch. They are getting

:37:30. > :37:34.closer. Starting to squeeze in an four, Germany, bringing with them in

:37:35. > :37:39.two, Great Britain. Not over for the British in the medals but the

:37:40. > :37:45.American crew, Austin and Robert, the stern pair, driving the crew

:37:46. > :37:52.along. They know the fight is going on. The Germans are showing that

:37:53. > :37:56.they don't let people get away. If they have had a good middle part,

:37:57. > :38:01.they don't let them get away in the last and they will hunt down the

:38:02. > :38:05.Dutch. The British came back on the Germans as we were watching the

:38:06. > :38:10.Americans. They have stretched away, down to a third of a length. The

:38:11. > :38:16.Dutch, the Germans, the USA closest to us and Great Britain in fourth

:38:17. > :38:21.position. Change or no change, you don't want to be in fourth.

:38:22. > :38:26.Especially against two crews that you haven't lost against in five

:38:27. > :38:31.years. 75 out from the line-out. The Netherlands are holding on from

:38:32. > :38:36.Germany. The Americans, what a sprint! They are going to come

:38:37. > :38:41.through on the line from Germany! The Americans are pushing hard to

:38:42. > :38:45.the line. But the Netherlands get the gold and Germany and the United

:38:46. > :38:51.States of America will have to wait to see. Germany getting second, USA

:38:52. > :38:56.getting bronze. Great Britain being pushed off the medal podium into

:38:57. > :38:59.fourth, we think. Absolutely outstanding result from the

:39:00. > :39:04.Netherlands. Earlier in this regatta they showed a bit of form and

:39:05. > :39:09.everybody thought that was going to be fly and die, but they made a big

:39:10. > :39:14.stab and a big mark in this final. Beating the Olympic champions to

:39:15. > :39:19.boot. Walking round the boat park and seeing the Dutch eight warming

:39:20. > :39:23.up, they are big guys. Powerful looking unit. The American chief

:39:24. > :39:27.coach must be kicking himself, because if they had had their top

:39:28. > :39:32.four athletes in the eight, they would be looking at gold medal now.

:39:33. > :39:35.The German coach must be kicking himself thinking they have lost over

:39:36. > :39:38.the last three years to Great Britain in this event, they have

:39:39. > :39:44.taken their engine room out, and now we have got to contend with the

:39:45. > :39:48.Netherlands! And the USA. You are right. A very rare situation. The

:39:49. > :39:53.Germans have been challenged by us and they have responded and

:39:54. > :39:57.responded. They probably saw the British are not 100% and we will

:39:58. > :40:04.have it our own way this weekend and that does show what overconfidence

:40:05. > :40:09.does. It means you don't come home with a gold or silver medal. Better

:40:10. > :40:12.to learn that lesson here than in Rio, but the reality is that is an

:40:13. > :40:17.experienced and they shouldn't have to learn that lesson. It will be

:40:18. > :40:22.hard to call where the gold medal is going to go in this event in Rio. So

:40:23. > :40:26.much happening from the European Championships three weeks ago to

:40:27. > :40:30.hear at Lucerne. The Americans will probably go back and we won't see

:40:31. > :40:33.them until Rio. They will not be around for Pozner and in three

:40:34. > :40:44.weeks, the final of the World Cup regattas. Exciting stuff. A surprise

:40:45. > :40:50.to see Germany not at the top of this. A surprise and I think the

:40:51. > :40:57.British can take a lot of confidence from this. Yes, in fourth, not the

:40:58. > :41:05.best, but Matt Langridge is in the seven man, rowing at four because he

:41:06. > :41:13.is not 100% and he has been ill. And Pete is not in it at all. A couple

:41:14. > :41:16.of gold medallists not in the boat, so they have strength to come back

:41:17. > :41:21.from. They will have fourth place hanging over their heads, motivating

:41:22. > :41:25.them for the next 68 days. Look how close the United States got. Just

:41:26. > :41:36.off the Olympic champions from Germany. A third of a length over

:41:37. > :41:39.Great Britain. On the day, the cloak of invincibility that Germany once

:41:40. > :41:45.held, that Great Britain held over the last few years, it seems to have

:41:46. > :41:48.been thrown away. Top of the pile here, the Netherlands, then Germany,

:41:49. > :41:55.and USA have come to the party and Great Britain in fourth.

:41:56. > :42:01.Steve, has the Netherlands winning that driven a coach and horses

:42:02. > :42:05.through the rankings for Rio? Very much though. As they said in

:42:06. > :42:07.commentary, the Germans will be thinking the British have not got

:42:08. > :42:12.their top guys in it, so we have this in the bag, but obviously they

:42:13. > :42:17.haven't. It always steps up in an Olympic year. The Dutch as a team,

:42:18. > :42:23.across-the-board, lightweights, women and heavyweight men, they have

:42:24. > :42:26.some really good athletes performing consistently and this proves it

:42:27. > :42:32.again. They have a bit of history in the eight as well, if you Olympics

:42:33. > :42:39.ago, but even in our time they have had an eight that has won an Olympic

:42:40. > :42:46.gold medal. A lot has been made about Jurgen Grobler choosing the

:42:47. > :42:56.men's four for the Olympic year, so is it too soon to say that his order

:42:57. > :43:04.of votes is working or not? -- boats. One gold is worth 1000

:43:05. > :43:09.silvers. That decision is made. Although fourth is a terrible

:43:10. > :43:13.position to come, I don't think Matt Langridge is 100% fit because he has

:43:14. > :43:16.been ill and he is not in his normal seat and Pete Reed isn't here. It

:43:17. > :43:20.has shown the Germans are not invincible and I think the Brits

:43:21. > :43:23.will take confidence from this. The guys that will be kicking

:43:24. > :43:28.themselves, the American chief coach, who put his best four guys in

:43:29. > :43:32.the American four, who got stuffed by the British and the Aussies, and

:43:33. > :43:37.his American eight only just lost here. If Jurgen Grobler is

:43:38. > :43:43.frustrated, you can have a beer with the American coach! What do you

:43:44. > :43:50.think it's realistic to expect from those three votes, pear, four and

:43:51. > :43:53.eight, in Rio? Jurgen Grobler is controlling all of this and he does

:43:54. > :43:59.well at the Olympic Games and you guys know that. I think gold for the

:44:00. > :44:06.four. They get so much speed when it goes to altitude. We have another

:44:07. > :44:11.World Cup in three weeks, but definitely a high medal, silver at

:44:12. > :44:19.least for the men's eight, and the men's pair, hard to call. Having

:44:20. > :44:22.watched the boats crossed the line, you are an optimistic macro definite

:44:23. > :44:28.silver? There is no definite. Not definite. Like to think they are

:44:29. > :44:33.capable of at least a silver medal in the men's eight. I will have to

:44:34. > :44:38.argue this later. Leave the married couple on the far side of the lake

:44:39. > :44:47.to sort out differences! There is a conspiracy theory that Jurgen

:44:48. > :44:51.manufactures the results, that he made you lose in the run-up to

:44:52. > :44:54.Sydney and Athens. I don't think that he is doing that. Definitely

:44:55. > :45:00.not. This is not the final World Cup race. There is another three weeks

:45:01. > :45:06.and illness coming into this second World Cup at Lucerne, so it is not

:45:07. > :45:10.all doom and gloom in disaster on the men's side. James said earlier

:45:11. > :45:19.in the commentary that if you go out and raise, then you cannot use that

:45:20. > :45:24.as an excuse. And then James has used it as an excuse! It is quite

:45:25. > :45:28.difficult. The one person that is standing right behind you that we

:45:29. > :45:34.should bring in at the moment is Helen Glover. We are going to talk

:45:35. > :45:43.to you in a minute. You are going to race in the women's pair. Before we

:45:44. > :45:47.talk to you, see how the event got on without you and Heather Stanning.

:45:48. > :46:05.totally exhausted, that is why you are here. That is part of the plan.

:46:06. > :46:22.New Zealand are in Lane number one. USA are in two.

:46:23. > :46:38.South Africa are in Lane number six. It is a tough call, it would have

:46:39. > :46:43.been a big decision to not want to race today. But if they had raced

:46:44. > :46:48.and they had not performed, they would have had to give excuses. They

:46:49. > :46:56.have made the tough corner, but there is nothing worse being a

:46:57. > :46:59.whinge if it does not go your way. You don't want to be like David Hay

:47:00. > :47:21.and moan about Vladimir Klitschko. They are being chased very hard by

:47:22. > :47:29.the USA. Both of those women were in the Olympic eights. The Kiwis will

:47:30. > :47:34.be doubling up in the women's eight later on. The American lead boat

:47:35. > :47:39.will want to clear this race out early and then start to ease down on

:47:40. > :47:46.the gas if they are to go again in the eighth. Yes, win this race, but

:47:47. > :47:48.win it as efficiently as possible and that means by as little as

:47:49. > :48:11.possible. We are coming into midway of the

:48:12. > :48:24.third 500 metres. Denmark in Lane number one.

:48:25. > :48:45.Rasmussen on that boat, plenty of pedigree in that family.

:48:46. > :48:59.500 metres remaining in this final, the women's pair at Lucerne. They

:49:00. > :49:06.pretty much lead from the first stroke. It is going to take a big

:49:07. > :49:14.push from the New Zealanders to get back on terms. They are being pushed

:49:15. > :49:22.hard by the USA. It is interesting the psychology. Glover and standing

:49:23. > :49:27.were going in with 34 consecutive victories together at international

:49:28. > :49:32.level. It was interesting, I watched this American pair yesterday and

:49:33. > :49:39.they are riding so much better today and that is because the pressure of

:49:40. > :49:46.Glover and standing is not there. When the cat is away, they have

:49:47. > :49:50.started to play properly. If they can do this, they will be a lot

:49:51. > :50:07.closer than they were earlier in the regatta. -- Heather Stanning.

:50:08. > :50:16.And still New Zealand come up. The water is an absolute millpond. It is

:50:17. > :50:21.fantastic as we come through the last 50 metres. It will be the

:50:22. > :50:31.United States of America holding of New Zealand. South Africa are

:50:32. > :50:39.pushing hard. Gold goes to USA and Silver goes to New Zealand. The

:50:40. > :50:41.bronze medal goes to USA two. Helen Glover and Heather Stanning did not

:50:42. > :50:52.start Does any of that lot who raced today

:50:53. > :50:58.scare you? You would not be an idiot to not have any fear, fear scares me

:50:59. > :51:03.and pushes me on. I do not go away from this weekend scared, I go away

:51:04. > :51:09.a bit frustrated we did not get to race in our final, but that is a

:51:10. > :51:13.decision we have to make today based on the fact that Heather had woken

:51:14. > :51:20.up and she had eaten something that made her not feel well. We even did

:51:21. > :51:27.our warm up. What kind of discussion did you have out on the water? It

:51:28. > :51:32.was not a discussion. I said to her, I trust your opinion and I would

:51:33. > :51:39.rather not race at all then race and not show ourselves in our true

:51:40. > :51:43.light. The last thing we want is to get to one kilometre and say, I

:51:44. > :51:51.should not have race. If there was any doubt, we said, let's not do it.

:51:52. > :51:58.She did have the warm up and she said, I am not right. We needed to

:51:59. > :52:03.push ourselves a little bit. She felt a bit sick and it was the right

:52:04. > :52:09.decision. It was frustrating, it could not be avoided, it is one of

:52:10. > :52:13.those things. Do you need that last World Cup race? Do you skip it? You

:52:14. > :52:21.have beaten everyone several times over, what is left to prove before

:52:22. > :52:26.Rio? I do not think we have anything to prove. Racing is something we

:52:27. > :52:32.enjoy doing and something we aim for every year, but we can get that from

:52:33. > :52:39.training. We have had a heat in a semifinal out here, we did not race

:52:40. > :52:43.the semifinal. Any racing time is quality time and time that you can

:52:44. > :52:50.learn about yourself. We have got another World Cup to come and that

:52:51. > :52:58.is important. What was it like standing on the bank? In one way it

:52:59. > :53:04.is frustrating, and I was pumped with adrenaline, but equally it is

:53:05. > :53:08.strangely reassuring. The boat that one we beat yesterday and we did not

:53:09. > :53:13.feel we had to do anything special. We have come away with a certain

:53:14. > :53:20.amount of information. The final is where you can judge the other boats,

:53:21. > :53:25.so we cannot say we did that. But we did raise our semifinal and we did

:53:26. > :53:31.beat them. We have now seen all the likely crews that will be at Rio. We

:53:32. > :53:35.have now seen everyone and we have not seen anyone doing anything

:53:36. > :53:39.bigger or better than we thought. We are still on our toes and very much

:53:40. > :53:46.in the frame of mind we have still got a lot of people to beat. Had you

:53:47. > :53:51.put your thoughts about going into the games? You are going in as

:53:52. > :53:56.Olympic champion. Have you thought about your mental part of the

:53:57. > :54:03.process? The World Cup is a stepping stone to the Olympics, is there any

:54:04. > :54:08.process to that? Definitely, one thing about the World Championships

:54:09. > :54:15.is you have to practice to defend a title and that comes into play at

:54:16. > :54:19.the Olympics. We see these races as stepping stones which is why you do

:54:20. > :54:23.not see us getting too distraught by missing this race. We need to train

:54:24. > :54:31.very well over the next couple of weeks. This is our block that gives

:54:32. > :54:35.us everything we will be in Rio. We have got an incredible team around

:54:36. > :54:40.us who help make these decisions easier and help us not question

:54:41. > :54:47.them. You are getting married after the Olympics, what is more exciting,

:54:48. > :54:50.the Olympics are getting married? It depends who is watching. If Steve is

:54:51. > :54:58.watching, it is definitely the wedding. Good answer, well done. The

:54:59. > :55:05.third World Cup will be coming up on BBC Two on the 19th of June and we

:55:06. > :55:07.have got coverage of that. Straight after as it is the Diamond league

:55:08. > :55:27.athletics from Oregon. After all that, if you have not had

:55:28. > :55:49.enough sport, there will be time for something a little bit different.

:55:50. > :55:58.Steve, I suppose one of the biggest stories that is circulating around

:55:59. > :56:01.sport I do retests of Beijing and London and rowing has been mentioned

:56:02. > :56:08.in dispatches in the Russian media. What do we make of all that?

:56:09. > :56:12.Obviously there are rumours that they are testing samples and there

:56:13. > :56:17.are supposed to be some positive ones. We just have to wait to make

:56:18. > :56:22.sure that what is being rumoured in the Russian press is actually fact.

:56:23. > :56:28.That may have an impact on our sport on one of the boats involved. That

:56:29. > :56:33.will put a question over Rio. Every games I have been involved in there

:56:34. > :56:39.are always drug issues, but this seems to be a step up to anything I

:56:40. > :56:45.have been involved in before. James and Garry, how would you sum up the

:56:46. > :56:49.British performers today? It is more realistic than the European

:56:50. > :56:58.Championships because the major players are here. On a scale of 1-10

:56:59. > :57:02.I would make it a six realistically. There were hardly any medals. We

:57:03. > :57:09.usually come away with quite a few. That was high. If I had to put my

:57:10. > :57:17.serious money on medals we get back from Rio I would say five with two

:57:18. > :57:20.gold medal. We are in that kind of ballpark here, but we cannot

:57:21. > :57:32.definitely do it. We are halfway there. I have got is on the medal

:57:33. > :57:36.table in fifth with one goal, two silvers and the bronze. I have got

:57:37. > :57:40.New Zealand at the top of the table followed by the USA and the Dutch

:57:41. > :57:47.after that and Germany with only two silver medal. The other headline,

:57:48. > :57:54.move the Rio Olympics over the virus. If you were an athlete now,

:57:55. > :58:00.there is the drugs, the virus, the staging of the games, the water

:58:01. > :58:08.quality. A quick answer. In every Olympics there is so much profile.

:58:09. > :58:17.There is less on this virus and there was on the norovirus at the

:58:18. > :58:24.other games. If somehow the stars can align, and the wait can be found

:58:25. > :58:25.through, we should not forget that the Olympics can be absolutely

:58:26. > :58:51.magical. Goodbye. Jessica Ennis-Hill is back on top of

:58:52. > :58:55.the world. Adam Peaty wins gold. Nicola Adams has just made history.

:58:56. > :59:04.Laura Trott is world champion. You might take a look at

:59:05. > :59:07.the Viper ACR and think, "That's going to be

:59:08. > :59:09.a handful to drive." The thing is,

:59:10. > :59:12.you'd be absolutely right!