Lucerne - Live Coverage Rowing World Cup


Lucerne - Live Coverage

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LineFromTo

Welcome to Switzerland, welcome to Lucerne. This is often called the

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best rowing course in the world. The rowing infrastructure fits perfectly

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in it and it is so often like this. Flat, fair and beautiful. What a

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contrast to the European Championships in Germany a few weeks

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ago. Welcome to the 2016 European Rowing Championships from

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Brandenburg with 89 days to go to Rio. The countdown begins today.

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Great Britain getting the gold in the lightweight men's coxless pair.

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First on the list for Team GB. Heather Stanning and Glover, it

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European champions once again. Just caught on the line. The Brits will

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be disappointed with that. Gold for Germany and the statement they are

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sending to the British world champions is that gold medal in Rio

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is far from certain. Great Britain are the European champions in the

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men's heavyweight coxless four. A win is a win at this time of the

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season. The British crew do it once more. Switzerland squeezed out at

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the line and Britain get the silver. They are through on the line and

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they have taken it! Great Britain are the European champions. That is

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how you do it in these kinds of conditions. Well, it might have been

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rough in Brandenburg, that they had sunshine. In Lucerne the wind has

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got up and it is driving rain under the tent and I am beside the lake

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with Steve Redgrave. Just look back to the European Championships

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briefly. How do you assess the British performance? I think overall

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it was very good but we ask used to such success in recent years that we

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came away a bit disappointed with the results. The gold medals, two

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silvers and one bronze is a good hall but I felt disappointed. Our

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commentary cupboard is on the far side of the lake. James, can you

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hear me? The biggest story from the British point of view is the absence

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of the women's double. No Katherine Grainger in Lucerne. Yes, it meant

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there would always be some change in terms of how they restructured

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themselves or whether they should do another boat. We think that will

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happen but we are waiting for confirmation. Then it is which boat

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they will go into. And an enormous bout of illness coming through the

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British team running up to this weekend. Even overnight in the last

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few hours, which seems to have affected every boat we are about to

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watch race. Yes. It is a real disappointment. Pete Lambert has

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come out of the men's Quad and the women's pair rout of the racing.

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This is a big event, the whole world is here, and they want to put in a

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big performance and we will see how they fare. Constantine Louloudis is

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also out. Lucerne has not always been a happy hunting ground for

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British crews in an Olympic year. We have had some shoppers. Especially

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in the Olympic year. I have to go back to 1984 for getting a victory

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at Lucerne in an Olympic year. It is one of the stepping stones towards

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the Olympics so there are lots of illnesses and problems around but it

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is not the major event of the year. It is an important one. Does it make

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a difference whether you lose or win here? Is it something you can shake

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off if you don't have a good result but take the best if you do when? If

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you are racing, you want to win. If you have illness and you are not

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racing and you have a substitute, there is an excuse that you can fall

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back on, but if you are racing many want to do as well as you possibly

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can to make sure you don't have negative thoughts going into the

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last World Cup race. Thank you. We will go live on the lake for the

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first race, the men's pair. Great Britain represented by a new

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combination of Reilly O'Donnell and Matthew Tarrant. Over to the

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commentary box. Big surprise in the first few

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hundred metres, the world champions, the New Zealanders, they are down.

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Down a reasonable amount. A bit slow off the start. Not a major problem

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but it gives everybody in the first 500 metres a bit of a sense of, OK,

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it is going OK. These are the New Zealanders, Eric Murray and Hamish

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Bond, Olympic champions, multi-world champions. They have dominated this

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event since they got into this boat post-Beijing in 2008. In the second

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500, you expect them to overhaul Great Britain in number three. This

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is the lane order. Spain, Netherlands, Great Britain, new

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combination for this event in lane three, New Zealand in four, South

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Africa and five and Australia out of your picture here in six.

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Interesting opening stages for the Kiwis. Yes, it is nothing that

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different. What they do is they maintain that speed ferociously for

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the middle 1000. They are already coming at level and they will be

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well ahead by 1000 and storming ahead by 1500. They are not only

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that fast but that confident in their ability. It is a 2000 metres

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race not 500 metres and they are perfect exponents of that. The other

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thing is you don't know how long they have been in Europe before.

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They are here for the long haul and they need to be fully acclimatised.

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Coming up to the halfway mark. 1000 down, 1000 to go. Poised nicely, New

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Zealand, Olympic world champions, to take the race on. Nathaniel

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Reilly-O'Donnell and Matthew Tarrant for Great Britain currently in

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second place. Matthew Tarrant in the stroke seat. They need a

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consolidated 500 metres because a whole load of stuff is going on in

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the British team for these guys. They were first in Arrese, the first

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Cup six weeks ago. They spout won, they went out there, and they are

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battling it out against Sinclair and Innes, the other main pair, if you

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like. They have been split up because of the illness. We will see

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Innes subbing later. Up to the British to put on a good performance

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for the selectors. The reality is and the selectors know that they are

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not going to beat New Zealand unless they have an illness or an absolute

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shocker. They are not going to beat them. What they do need to do is

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fill the gap, basically the void between New Zealand and the next

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fastest crew, and what they need to do is demonstrate that they are the

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next fastest crew to make sure they get in the selection for the British

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slot for the Olympics. They are doing that but it is pretty close.

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They are not that far ahead of the Dutch, so they need to make sure

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they keep ahead of the Dutch and get a silver medal otherwise they have

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no chance of staying in the power. From Cambridge on the north island.

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30 years of age, Hamish, backed up by Murray, 34. This is a serious

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Olympic year with 68 days to go. They have clear water. Second place

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is led by Great Britain. Second, third and fourth are within half a

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second and the British boys need to make sure they are on the right side

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of that half a second to edge into the British slot for the Rio

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Olympics. People ask me what the motivation is behind Murray and

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Bond, because they have been unbeaten for so long. What keeps

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them driving? Yes, they have set different goals to give themselves

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different challenges, but what they are haunted by is the Beijing

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Olympics in 2008, when they were 2007 world champions. In the 2008

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Olympics, they didn't make the final for the New Zealand four. They are

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perfectly aware that you might not make the final despite having the

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perfect record. They are just ironing out anybody else's ambitions

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to take them on. They are in the position of being unbeatable

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mentally in the Olympics and that is what they are demonstrating. New

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Zealand leads and Great Britain have got to watch out for South Africa

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who are making a late charge in the closing 150 metres of this final at

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Lucerne. Out front, New Zealand, the world and Olympic champions leading

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now as Great Britain fighting in a real dogfight with South Africa for

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the silver medal. Netherlands in lane number two up there as well. We

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have New Zealand winning and on the line it is going to be very close

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from South Africa and Great Britain. The! It is hard to call. A photo

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finish. We will get the full confirmation but out front, clearly

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and authoritatively, New Zealand. We will get the confirmation as it

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comes through on our screens. I am going for Great Britain in second.

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They were caught though. I am going for it. It is a photo finish but I

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feel confident. South Africa came back into it and the Netherlands

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came back very strong. These guys don't care. The Olympic and World

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champions through in Clearwater. Great Britain there just? There you

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go! By a couple of inches. Great Britain second. We see it on the

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screen now. The rain comes down here in Lucerne. Still a good performance

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from Nathaniel Reilly O'Donnell and Matthew Tarrant. These are the

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margins. A good performance does not guarantee you getting that slot for

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the Olympics. To get the best chance, they need to come second

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here. We are waiting. That photo finish confirmed it kind but nothing

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is fully confirmed by the governing body until they put it up on the

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screen and notify the athletes. It was a good result in any event. This

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crew started their World Cup campaign in that depleted field. OK,

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the Dutch have been given second place. That will squeeze Great

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Britain back. It didn't look like that. Great Britain get third place.

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There will be a moment of elation of silver being pushed back into

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bronze. Perhaps one of the most predictable

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gold medals of the day for the Kiwi pair. I suppose the question

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everybody wants to know is whether they are the best pair ever. I think

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you keep asking that question and you are the only one who wants that

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answer! They are certainly the best pair around of their decade.

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Whatever situation. I don't think that was a great performance by

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them. Very rarely do we see them holding back in the field. Their

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technique wasn't looking that smooth as it has done before. It looked

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like they were driving their legs really strongly and not being that

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effective. They are such a class above everyone else around them,

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they were still able to win the race. It puts them under a lot of

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pressure when they are in the first 504th or fifth when we first joined

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that race. -- when they are in the first 500, and they are fourth or

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fifth. We always used to try and lead the race straightaway. We

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always paced the first 1000 the way that we needed to be set so that we

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could last the distance and not overcome it, and most of the time

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that put us out in front, and that is the way that Eric and Hamish have

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done it over the years as well. If you are leading by a long way, it is

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not likely that anyone will come back. I am not putting doubt out

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there that there will be an Olympic gold medal round their neck in a few

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months' time, but that is not their best by any stretch of the

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imagination. James, you have just commentated on the race, but

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pointing to the attributes of the Kiwis that make them so consistent

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and dominant in this event, it is no surprise that they keep on winning

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and I am sure nothing will get in their way between now and Rio.

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Exactly. They have so many things in their favour, part the fear -- apart

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from the fear they strike into the hearts of their opponents, and they

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are not very heavy. The cruise around them have got to match them

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in strength and also in terms of weight. They didn't row that well

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today that their technique is ferociously in that middle bit. They

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really dig deep. Their paces what crews find it difficult to live

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with. They can spread faster at either end but it is in the middle

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that they destroy people. As if by magic we are joined by Eric and

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Hamish. How was that race? Surprising to be so far down earlier

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on. It is a to kilometre race, man! We haven't been doing our job

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properly of trying to be the best, and then people wouldn't find ways

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to beat us, like going out in front. Luckily enough nobody can match is

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in the middle part of the race. If that happens, they will be closer to

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the finish but until then we have plenty to work on in the first part

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and we will always keep striving for more, simple as that. Some of your

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fitness results are obscene. That must give you confidence in the

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middle of the race. Yes, this is 16 years of hard grind.

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We are always trying to find ways to push each other. That is producing a

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successful programme, we are pushing in the team. How much appetite have

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you got for rear? It is a few weeks away now. We will be based in Europe

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for the whole period until rear. We are still getting our feet on the

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ground, we have only been in Europe for five days. It is a long way to

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come across the world. We are looking forward to Rio, it will be

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exciting. A few more races before Rio kicks off hopefully. Are you

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thinking about Rio now? If you start thinking too far ahead, you lose

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sense of the process. Those decisions come pretty closely up,

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but now we are just focus on what happens between now and beer and

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forget about what happens in the future. It is great to see you going

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quick. We hope the Brits are going to push you really hard. I do as

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well. Everybody is out there to try and win, people are not out there to

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make up the numbers. People want to win, and we do as well. You could

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not make it up. Fantastic role models for our sport. Very much so,

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they are a class act in everything they do, the training, the racing

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and the preparation and media interviews as well. Two top guys.

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Let's turn our attention to the men's lightweight double sculls.

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That happened earlier today. This is a split regatta, so we have got

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morning racing and afternoon racing. We are going to have the men's quad

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today. There was another illness and it affected the crews today. Let's

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see how they got on. Two years ago Great Britain in this

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event had a dream season, finishing with a silver medal in the World

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Championships. Since then it has been a time of frustration with

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injury and illness. That illness continues again today. They were

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disappointed with their finish in the European Championships three

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weeks ago. Jack Bowman comes in for his ill team-mate. Graeme Thomas is

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in the stroke seat. Two subs on board the quadruple sculls for

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Britain. Jack Beaumont sits in the bow seat. He is also doubling up in

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the men's double sculls. Great Britain in four and Switzerland in

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five. Such is the competition here getting to this final that Germany

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complete the line-up, closest to us, and they are the world and Olympic

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champions, in lane six. Not the best lane to be in. You are very much out

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of it. You do not want to be on the outside lane for a number of

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reasons, here because the camera crew are next to you. But our quad

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are going well. They are showing that a change does not necessarily

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take away anything from your attitude and your boat speed. The

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other five crews are all in a line. Our boys are three quarters of a leg

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up and they could build on this in the middle part of the race. That

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would be a fantastic step forward. Graeme Thomas to the left of your

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picture is leading this British quadruple sculls. Again absolutely

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fantastic conditions on the water. When you are on the water level you

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get a feel of how the boat is moving, the speed of the boat. Such

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contrast in conditions than we had at the European Championships a few

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weeks back. Although it is disappointing to have so many

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injuries and illness, the guys coming in now with 60 days to go, if

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they race well here, they can put themselves back into the mix to be

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part of it permanently. This quad is consistently fast and there are

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about six or eight of them and if you race well, you have got every

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chance of keeping your seat. They are racing world so far, but it is

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only halfway yet. Three quarters of a length up for Great Britain.

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Australia and Switzerland are in amongst it all. I am looking at the

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speed of the German crew. They are sitting around fifth. It is a big

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question to nail the third 500 here. If they can continued this momentum.

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The Australians have strengthened their team and they will push hard.

:20:53.:20:57.

Australia are coming back and tracking Great Britain. Switzerland

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is in lane number five and we also expect Germany to find some speed in

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this third. The Australians are moving quickly now. But will they

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pay for it in the last 400 metres? We traditionally have a strong last

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500 and not a fast first 500. Will it have cost them a little bit of

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gas in the last 500? The Australians are now coming back to a quarter of

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a length. This third 500 has been blistering from the Australians.

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There is a quarter of this race to go and the British are hanging on by

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their fingernails as the Australians continue to find the speed. When you

:21:57.:22:04.

get tired, it is harder to hold it together and when you get tired and

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you are a new combination that gets magnified, so it will be difficult.

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The heads have got to stay up. Clear water, the Australians are coming

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through. It is almost a matter of forgetting the Australians and

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concentrate on the speed and keep the sharpness, not to be demoralised

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by the Australians. Otherwise the rest of the world will come back at

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you. If they get frustrated, the Australians are overtaking them, but

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the reality is they are still ahead of the other four boats. This is a

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very good performance from scratch team. The Australians are showing

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their pedigree from last year's World Championships. Australia have

:22:59.:23:05.

taken a full two let's clear water out of Great Britain. They are

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moving away as the British crew contain the Swiss in lane number

:23:13.:23:17.

five. It is gold to Australia and silver to Great Britain and bronze

:23:18.:23:21.

to Switzerland. All things told with Jack Beaumont in the bow street that

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is a pretty good result for the British to get a medal will stop

:23:25.:23:28.

three weeks ago they were fifth at the European Championships.

:23:29.:23:33.

Australia, Great Britain and Switzerland.

:23:34.:23:44.

How was that feeling, especially in the opening stages? It was nice to

:23:45.:23:50.

have a look around and see that we were up. What can I say? We have

:23:51.:23:57.

changed the line-up in three weeks. The guys did a good job and we had

:23:58.:24:05.

trouble on the race day and Jack has done a great stepping in once again.

:24:06.:24:11.

The first stroke we took together as a four we were all over the place.

:24:12.:24:17.

But it shows what depth British spelling has got these days, put

:24:18.:24:23.

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

:24:24.:24:30.

the European Championships? Yes, the European Championships were

:24:31.:24:32.

disappointing for us and the weather was horrible. They did not give us a

:24:33.:24:40.

favourable lane, but we had to put out there what we had. We put

:24:41.:24:47.

together a different combination and try to get some speed in the first

:24:48.:24:52.

kilometre. We were really happy with our first kilometre, but there is

:24:53.:24:57.

still more work to do. Sam, how much more work is there to do? How much

:24:58.:25:02.

more potential is there in this combination M there is bags of

:25:03.:25:08.

potential. Firstly, Jack did an excellent job today. That was

:25:09.:25:12.

last-minute stuff. An hour and a half before racing we changed it. We

:25:13.:25:19.

did our first stroke and we nearly capsized! We thought, oh, no, what

:25:20.:25:29.

is going to happen here? That it settles down and we kept our heads

:25:30.:25:34.

and we rocketed off. That is what we spoke about. On the one hand we were

:25:35.:25:40.

really excited to race as a new line-up and go all the way to the

:25:41.:25:45.

line in that position. Maybe changing just then cost us, but all

:25:46.:25:55.

credit to the Australians. Jack, briefly, you have a busy day coming

:25:56.:26:03.

up. In three hours per I am in the main's doubles final, but I feel a

:26:04.:26:09.

bit bad for my partner. It shows you how good these guys and Pete and the

:26:10.:26:12.

coach are. They can get rid of one and drop me an an hour and a half

:26:13.:26:17.

before and still get a medal, pretty fantastic. A great result, guys,

:26:18.:26:25.

good luck, we will see you later. A fantastic performance from that

:26:26.:26:29.

men's squad. There has been a sea change in British spelling and men's

:26:30.:26:36.

sculling. It has been ten years, 15 years ago there was nothing like the

:26:37.:26:41.

quality that we see now. I think you can go back to 1977 which is the

:26:42.:26:46.

only gold medal we won at a World Championship. It was in the doldrums

:26:47.:26:54.

and I was part of those doldrums" and coming a long way behind. Is it

:26:55.:27:02.

partly the junior system that is encouraging more boys and girls into

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sculling? That is part of the story. The other part of the story is that

:27:10.:27:17.

they are so successful at sweeper rowing that they cannot get into the

:27:18.:27:23.

sweeper team. That has raised up a level and now they see sculling as a

:27:24.:27:28.

realistic chance of a medal and that motivate the next generation. Jack

:27:29.:27:33.

has been brilliant. He did not know this morning until early this

:27:34.:27:37.

morning that he was sobbing into the cord. He had a tough semifinal in

:27:38.:27:43.

the peers yesterday and he has still got another final two row later. We

:27:44.:27:49.

will see. His dad used to row in the early part of my career. I do not

:27:50.:27:57.

know if Pete every medal at Lucerne, so Jack has gone one above that. We

:27:58.:28:02.

have seen changes enforced on some of the crews and the men's pair was

:28:03.:28:07.

another example, a complete change in Munich, and yet they have got

:28:08.:28:13.

another medal. It seems that the depth in this squad is a lot more

:28:14.:28:17.

than we were ever used to. Pretty much so. There is no coxed pairs at

:28:18.:28:23.

the Olympic Games. It appeared that has raised there are world champions

:28:24.:28:30.

in the coxed pair. That is a little bit of downgrading because there is

:28:31.:28:35.

not an Olympic event. The pair that had raised at the Europeans this

:28:36.:28:38.

year have been sucked into other boats and one of them is ill as

:28:39.:28:44.

well. There is huge and depth, so we do not know who is going to be the

:28:45.:28:49.

pair at the Olympic Games yet. This is the men's coxless four. We sent

:28:50.:28:55.

James along to catch up with a key member of the group who is racing

:28:56.:28:58.

here, George Nash. Great Britain by the men's European

:28:59.:29:13.

champions. At the Europeans the conditions were incredibly rough and

:29:14.:29:18.

when I crossed the line I thought, I have not got anywhere near as much

:29:19.:29:21.

out of myself as I usually do because I was hampered by the wind

:29:22.:29:27.

and the conditions. That frustrated me. Ultimately the job is to win and

:29:28.:29:33.

we got that under our belts. Over the winter did you have a preference

:29:34.:29:36.

as to whether you would be in the eighth or the four? When they were

:29:37.:29:41.

announcing the team who was going to go for the four I thought I probably

:29:42.:29:50.

would rather be in the fours. But the aids is a fast and furious event

:29:51.:29:54.

that I personally enjoy. There is something to taking that on for

:29:55.:30:00.

sure. I am probably more of a realist and the is when we raised

:30:01.:30:06.

the four we won by a lot more than when we raised the aids how has it

:30:07.:30:13.

been with the guys that you work with last year and how is it since

:30:14.:30:16.

you have become a separate team? I don't look at it as a separate

:30:17.:30:28.

outfit. We are one effort trying to win, mostly by taking chunks out of

:30:29.:30:32.

each other in training, which we have been doing. It has brought

:30:33.:30:36.

really good things out of both boats. It is not as acrimonious as

:30:37.:30:40.

it could be and in general it is pretty healthy. I am not going to

:30:41.:30:43.

deny that there are small tensions between crews. There always will be

:30:44.:30:48.

with competitive guys. It might occasionally boil over here and

:30:49.:30:51.

there but in the big picture it is pretty healthy. Great Britain get

:30:52.:30:57.

the gold medal! Great Britain are the Olympic champions. Gold medal

:30:58.:31:01.

for Great Britain. Wonderfully done. Great Britain, the Olympic champions

:31:02.:31:08.

once more! Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London and Rio will be the fifth.

:31:09.:31:12.

Does that add to the pressure of being the top boat but also being

:31:13.:31:17.

the first one in 20 years not to win? I honestly do feel a bit like

:31:18.:31:21.

that. If things don't go quite to plan, the guys around me are just

:31:22.:31:26.

fiercely strong. I have a huge amount of respect for them. I am

:31:27.:31:32.

probably objectively the worst guy in this crew, so if we are losing it

:31:33.:31:36.

is me that needs to do my shoelaces up. Out of the four of view, who is

:31:37.:31:43.

the most opinionated out of the water and who is the most negative

:31:44.:31:51.

out of it? Mo rarely said we have nothing to work on. He really

:31:52.:31:57.

strives for perfection. Stan is very matter of fact. Sometimes he will

:31:58.:32:00.

say it is fine and sometimes he will say he is not happy with it. Greg is

:32:01.:32:05.

relaxed and positive, sort of a mixture really. If I have had a good

:32:06.:32:10.

night's sleep I am positive and not if I haven't. We do our best.

:32:11.:32:19.

We can see the coxless fours loaded up on the start. Constant Tyler

:32:20.:32:26.

Lueders, the selected stroke man for this combination for the European

:32:27.:32:32.

Championships is at home else. -- Constantine Louloudis.

:32:33.:32:39.

Over to the commentators. Thank you. Big Dave, McBride T,

:32:40.:32:47.

sitting in the bow seat of the top boat in the men's heavyweight team.

:32:48.:33:01.

-- big day for Callum McBrierty. They are coming under starters

:33:02.:33:10.

orders. Wait for the green light. We want now is Great Britain ease out.

:33:11.:33:14.

Slightly down on the first stroke but now they will start to wind it

:33:15.:33:20.

up. Led by Alex Gregory, 32 years of age, in the stroke seat, the Olympic

:33:21.:33:25.

champion in this event back in 2012 and leading out one of the top

:33:26.:33:29.

stroke man in the team anyway. Traditionally in the bow seat. He is

:33:30.:33:36.

getting his big chance to show Jurgen Grobler, the chief coach of

:33:37.:33:42.

the men's team. I know there is a lot of mutual respect between him

:33:43.:33:46.

and Alex Ferguson. At clean and fast. Australia taking on the

:33:47.:33:50.

momentum. Grease dropping off. Great Britain finding their stride. Alex

:33:51.:33:59.

Gregory, then George Nash, then Mo and then the super sub Callum

:34:00.:34:07.

McBrierty in four. Quality field here because the American boat is

:34:08.:34:12.

the top American sweep vote and the Australian crew is also the top

:34:13.:34:18.

Australian sweep boat. Yes, it is the best American boat, although

:34:19.:34:23.

they favour the eights, so they put therefore most athletes -- there for

:34:24.:34:39.

most athletes in the four. America and us are in the mix. The

:34:40.:34:43.

Australians going to the second 500 metres just leading the field here.

:34:44.:34:50.

2015 silver medallists in this event at the World Championships. Really

:34:51.:34:52.

big opportunity now for Great Britain. Just starting to

:34:53.:35:01.

consolidate. They are into the race now. Relaxing and finding easy speed

:35:02.:35:05.

as they sit alongside the Netherlands. The Netherlands did not

:35:06.:35:10.

start in the Group B final. Great Britain won that event here.

:35:11.:35:16.

Difference between them and the Dutch crew over the last few weeks.

:35:17.:35:22.

They didn't have the quickest start European Championships and this 500

:35:23.:35:26.

hasn't been that fast, but what they need to do is what the New Zealand

:35:27.:35:31.

pair demonstrate, which is a phenomenal middle part of the race.

:35:32.:35:35.

There they space. The Australians are actually showing that to them.

:35:36.:35:41.

The real drive for successful club in the second half. -- the drive for

:35:42.:35:51.

success will come in the second half. My fear and my hope is that

:35:52.:35:55.

the Australians can't demonstrate that in the second half. Add

:35:56.:36:02.

Lucerne, the penultimate World Cup regatta on the road to Rio. Coming

:36:03.:36:08.

up to halfway. The coxless fours. Netherlands in third, Russia in

:36:09.:36:16.

fourth, the USA languishing in fifth surprisingly. Around 1000 to 1250,

:36:17.:36:25.

they lift the pace. Not very comfortable from the Russian crew

:36:26.:36:30.

inlay number six. Led by a 33-year-old. You Klopp will not like

:36:31.:36:42.

watching this. -- Jurgen Grobler. He will find out more about his crew in

:36:43.:36:46.

this position than if they are winning from the start. Their second

:36:47.:36:51.

to last race before the Olympics. Nearly one length behind the

:36:52.:36:55.

Australians and going to have to dig deep. 750 metres left and if they do

:36:56.:37:00.

not dig deep now, they won't win. Now you can find out what your crew

:37:01.:37:04.

is made up. Yes, you can be the top boat, but you cannot find out what

:37:05.:37:09.

you have got if you're not put in this position. You don't want that

:37:10.:37:14.

first-time situation to be in Rio so this is great. There is an overlap,

:37:15.:37:20.

three quarters of a length down on Australia. If you are in the bowels

:37:21.:37:25.

of your four, how can they respond without panicking? The bow seat is

:37:26.:37:31.

the only person in his peripheral vision who can see the Australian

:37:32.:37:39.

boat. Alex Gregory, Mo and George Nash. They are rowing against

:37:40.:37:44.

nothing. He is going to have to be not only a sub but a real

:37:45.:37:51.

communicator. Reaching back. We are going to have to go now or we don't

:37:52.:37:56.

have a chance. They have to get back three quarters of a length and I

:37:57.:37:59.

don't think the Aussies will let this go. Two feet in the last 500

:38:00.:38:05.

metres, so the mid paced Australian crew, the middle part of the race,

:38:06.:38:08.

really solid. The British are starting to move up to a rate of 40

:38:09.:38:15.

strokes a minute. 39 is still high but they are not matching the

:38:16.:38:20.

British crew as they surge. That is the powerhouse of the British men's

:38:21.:38:24.

team in the middle. They are down to half a length now. What the Aussies

:38:25.:38:28.

haven't got compared to the Brits is raw horsepower and this is where it

:38:29.:38:34.

will count. They will be checking it in now. Jurgen Grobler will be

:38:35.:38:37.

watching and wondering if the training has paid off. He has put

:38:38.:38:40.

his boys through hell in the gym and on the water and on the rowing

:38:41.:38:43.

machine and this is where it will pay off. Win or lose. They are

:38:44.:38:49.

running out of water here add Lucerne. The British crew continue

:38:50.:38:53.

to throw everything, the kitchen sink, at it and it will go right to

:38:54.:38:57.

the line. The Australians are going to crack. They are coming under

:38:58.:39:00.

pressure. The Australians have cracked and the British have got a

:39:01.:39:04.

couple of strokes just to tease it. Look what they have done! They have

:39:05.:39:09.

caused the Australians to catch a crab on the line! That was the

:39:10.:39:14.

pressure led by the British crew. That is why Jurgen Grobler coaches

:39:15.:39:18.

the very best and makes the very best. And Alex Gregory new when it

:39:19.:39:23.

was all going dark that they picked it up. They don't know yet. Gregory

:39:24.:39:34.

threw his hat away. He threw it when they crossed the line and they

:39:35.:39:38.

thought they had lost. But they did not know the Australians had caught

:39:39.:39:42.

a crab. Look at the pain in Alex Gregory. That is unforgivable to do

:39:43.:39:49.

that at this level. Australia world silver medallists. It is like

:39:50.:39:53.

tripping over when you come to the 400 metres and you get to the last

:39:54.:39:58.

100 metres and you trip over. The quality in this group is so high

:39:59.:40:02.

that they shouldn't have done that. They are getting the confirmation.

:40:03.:40:06.

Do the British know that they have won? They are still looking around.

:40:07.:40:10.

The expectation was that the Australians made as fight for that

:40:11.:40:14.

and it was harder than it should have been. Win or lose, they will

:40:15.:40:17.

not be happy. Slightly happier having won. But to beat the

:40:18.:40:25.

Australians on the line and they had to make a mistake for the British to

:40:26.:40:30.

win. Nevertheless. They learned a huge amount about themselves in that

:40:31.:40:35.

race and that will be much more viable than winning the European

:40:36.:40:39.

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

:40:40.:40:43.

being that far down. Yes, the Australians made a mistake, but not

:40:44.:40:47.

on their own. They were pushed into it by the relentless pressure of our

:40:48.:40:52.

boys in the last few hundred metres. It is very close. On the line. What

:40:53.:40:58.

a result for the British. Well, Steve, what a result for the

:40:59.:41:11.

British. A win is a win, but the talking point will be the Australian

:41:12.:41:15.

crowd in the last two strips. James and Gary said that was unforgivable.

:41:16.:41:19.

The pressure they were put under, as Gary said, as well, but they have

:41:20.:41:26.

almost perfect water here. It literally happened just right behind

:41:27.:41:29.

us and I was focusing on the British crew and we were catching a bit of

:41:30.:41:34.

water. We were struggling in those last few strokes. I thought they

:41:35.:41:37.

would come through and take the victory without that crab, and then

:41:38.:41:41.

I thought they wouldn't do it as they came past. Then that whopper

:41:42.:41:46.

that the Aussies caught. They are going to be disappointed with that,

:41:47.:41:50.

even with a spare on board. They would like to be dominating this

:41:51.:41:55.

event. If that was the silver, that was a good performance by carrying a

:41:56.:41:59.

sub, but they will not be happy with it but as supporters that is a very

:42:00.:42:05.

good result. What will Jurgen Grobler be saying to them? I think

:42:06.:42:11.

he will be patting them on the back and saying well done. Carrying a

:42:12.:42:15.

sub. They had if you training sessions and they knew they had a

:42:16.:42:18.

sub a few days ago. Not like some those that have been thrown into day

:42:19.:42:22.

with substitutions. Not the strongest person in the team coming

:42:23.:42:27.

in as the sub. He is much further down the ranking of a sweet rowing

:42:28.:42:34.

team. That is still a good performance. I think Jurgen Grobler

:42:35.:42:38.

will be disappointed they haven't dominated it but not grossly

:42:39.:42:43.

disappointed overall. Even with that situation, they are still in the

:42:44.:42:49.

first two. If the Australians didn't catch their crab. And they have

:42:50.:42:53.

taken the victory with the Aussies handing it to us. George Nash told

:42:54.:42:59.

about it in the film before the race. It is happening again and

:43:00.:43:06.

again. We have won since 2004, 2008, 2012, on it goes, and it is weighing

:43:07.:43:10.

heavier and heavier on these guys. Possibly. If you look back at the

:43:11.:43:16.

Olympic victories over the last four Games, they have been very narrow

:43:17.:43:20.

gaps. These guys have the opportunity to win by a very long

:43:21.:43:24.

way and if I was in that crew, that is what I would want to do. I want

:43:25.:43:29.

to make sure we are not winning by 0.08 of a second. I want to be one

:43:30.:43:33.

length in front of these guys, which I think they can be. I am losing

:43:34.:43:37.

concentration because the crew are coming. Well done. Callum,

:43:38.:43:48.

congratulations. Mo, how do you assess that performance? It was a

:43:49.:43:53.

pretty difficult race. We knew the Aussies were a strong crew and they

:43:54.:43:56.

went out and took the bull by the horn and we played catch up the

:43:57.:43:59.

whole way but I never thought they would beat us. Their play to the

:44:00.:44:04.

rest of the crew. They stuck with it and we didn't know if we had won,

:44:05.:44:08.

hence the exhilarating at celebrations at the end. When did

:44:09.:44:16.

Jurgen Grobler say that you are going in the four for Lucerne?

:44:17.:44:19.

Everybody does that impression of him! I got the call and that was

:44:20.:44:27.

exceptional. All credit to these boys. Absolutely incredible race. I

:44:28.:44:31.

actually thought we lost it on the line because the Australians were

:44:32.:44:35.

shouting that they had won. Then Jurgen Grobler goes, look at the

:44:36.:44:39.

board! I don't know if we can replay it for you but they caught a crab on

:44:40.:44:46.

the line. Two strokes from the line. Two man got one in the chin. How was

:44:47.:44:55.

it from the stroke seat, Alex? Not the normal way you have been rowing

:44:56.:45:01.

in fours in recent years? No, but like Mo said, it was never in doubt.

:45:02.:45:10.

I think we pretty much did a start and carried on that stuff. I don't

:45:11.:45:15.

think I have raced so hard in a race. Not the textbook way to race,

:45:16.:45:21.

but we have got Cal in the boat and he has been a superstar from day

:45:22.:45:27.

one. He slotted in no problems a pretty pleased with that.

:45:28.:45:33.

George, you said after the European Championships it was difficult to

:45:34.:45:39.

get all your power in the water. Your face tells me that you gave

:45:40.:45:45.

everything in that race. I managed to get in, it was a great effort.

:45:46.:45:53.

Are you now laying down a challenge for the stroke seat? I am sure

:45:54.:45:59.

Constantine is watching this, is the battle on? I am very happy for him

:46:00.:46:07.

to be in the seat if he wants it. I think today shows that whatever crew

:46:08.:46:12.

we put out, and this can happen at the Olympics, we can go out there

:46:13.:46:16.

and win whatever crew we put out and it is a very good sign. Listen, well

:46:17.:46:22.

done, that is a really fantastic performance. Enjoy the medal

:46:23.:46:26.

ceremony and we look forward to Rio and the improvements that are to

:46:27.:46:32.

come. Now we are going to turn our attention onto the women's eight.

:46:33.:46:38.

This is a live race happening out on the lake. I hope we can see them

:46:39.:46:44.

sitting out on the start. One of the few British crews that has not been

:46:45.:46:48.

affected by the illness. I will hand you over to our commentators.

:46:49.:47:01.

USA are in lane number three, the multi-world champions, the Olympic

:47:02.:47:09.

champions. They come through the collegiate system and it is very

:47:10.:47:13.

strong on the women's France. Time and again they produced top boats.

:47:14.:47:19.

But just maybe this year the British are coming together quite nicely. --

:47:20.:47:29.

on the women's front. Great Britain set as the current European

:47:30.:47:33.

champions. That is pretty impressive, a good benchmark to

:47:34.:47:41.

have. Canada are bronze medallists. They have been medalled many times

:47:42.:47:45.

at the Olympics and World Championships. A very strong field,

:47:46.:47:50.

USA to the right and Canada to the left of the British. We just home in

:47:51.:47:57.

on the Olympic champions from the United States. We are coming under

:47:58.:48:12.

starter's orders. Just a little bit of a breeze, a very big day here.

:48:13.:48:32.

Waiting for the starter from the tower block behind.

:48:33.:48:44.

James, the expectation on the British crew, we expect them to

:48:45.:48:51.

medal here if they are going to step up again and be real medal

:48:52.:48:56.

contenders. If they are to be medal contenders, they have to step up

:48:57.:49:02.

here. Three of the five crews are not European nations, so they will

:49:03.:49:05.

be racing for the first time and they will know where they are on a

:49:06.:49:10.

global level. There are two very interested spectators in Katherine

:49:11.:49:19.

Grainger and Helen Glover watching at home. They are poised and they

:49:20.:49:28.

are ready to go. New Zealand are the world's silver medallists. USA are

:49:29.:49:32.

the world champions, the defending champions and the current Olympic

:49:33.:49:36.

champions. Great Britain are the European champions. Canada is driven

:49:37.:49:45.

by Lesley Thomson Wylie who was coxing in 1992. She has been a real

:49:46.:49:50.

stalwart for the women's eights since then. The British crew have

:49:51.:50:02.

had a good start so far. By a couple of feet at these early stages the

:50:03.:50:10.

USA lead. At the European Championships the British were

:50:11.:50:13.

laying down on the Dutch at halfway. If they row like that here, they

:50:14.:50:18.

will be almost two length down on the Americans. So really set a poor

:50:19.:50:25.

start at the European Championships was an anomaly and they would not be

:50:26.:50:31.

at those situations here. So fire they are true to their word. The

:50:32.:50:44.

British crew are looking very strong because they are looking long, they

:50:45.:50:49.

have got good length. Great Britain are on the heels of the Olympic and

:50:50.:50:56.

world champions by one foot. The Olympic champions are leading Great

:50:57.:51:00.

Britain. Canada are in the bronze medal position. Now it is all about

:51:01.:51:09.

consolidating into the second 500 metres, particularly with the eight

:51:10.:51:15.

because it is a sprint event. So much riding on the individual

:51:16.:51:21.

members of the crew, but also the expectations that the supporters,

:51:22.:51:24.

friends and family have. They know they have to deliver. Look how they

:51:25.:51:32.

have taken out almost half a length. Lane number five, Canada, are

:51:33.:51:37.

slipping back. So far, so good. But if you look at the same picture, the

:51:38.:51:42.

Americans have taken half a length and New Zealand has come back. There

:51:43.:51:47.

are three other boats you have to worry about. The eights, yes, it is

:51:48.:51:59.

a sprint race, but this is an incredibly impressive first 500. But

:52:00.:52:06.

the New Zealanders are sneaking back up on them. This is only 25% of the

:52:07.:52:12.

race. We are coming up to the 50% of the race. A good benchmark for the

:52:13.:52:18.

British crew. They went through the first time in two feet down on the

:52:19.:52:23.

Americans. The Americans are the Olympic champions and they have

:52:24.:52:28.

stepped up in that second 500. New Zealand are coming back hard on the

:52:29.:52:39.

tails of the British crew. Fran is going for her fifth Olympic Games.

:52:40.:52:43.

She does not look that relax, but halfway through the race you would

:52:44.:52:49.

not be relaxed. In terms of building for the Olympics, if they can come

:52:50.:52:55.

away with a silvery here, that would be very impressive. This would be a

:52:56.:52:58.

really good platform for whatever will happen going forward. A silver

:52:59.:53:06.

would be a solid benchmark for everyone. The British crew now have

:53:07.:53:15.

to really nailed this third 500. Four of the American eight have

:53:16.:53:20.

already raised in this regatta. Two in the Kiwi eight have already

:53:21.:53:25.

raised, so there are tired legs in those boats. There are fresh legs in

:53:26.:53:32.

the British crew. They will be called upon now. Psychologically

:53:33.:53:38.

this is a real battle. Look at the black vote, just stalking up through

:53:39.:53:42.

Great Britain. Now they have a target on the United States. The

:53:43.:53:50.

stroke rate is three more than the British. That is a significant

:53:51.:53:56.

amount. You are wondering whether the British are paying for that

:53:57.:54:02.

first 500 metres. I am all for going out of the blocks as hard as you

:54:03.:54:07.

can, so well done for them doing it, but you have to pace it. New Zealand

:54:08.:54:13.

have done a very good job of that. Now the British nudge ahead. The

:54:14.:54:34.

British have responded. It is a phenomenal, combination of girls who

:54:35.:54:39.

have come together. Coming away from the European Championships has given

:54:40.:54:43.

them a sense of renewed confidence. They are responding again. The

:54:44.:54:49.

confidence from the European Championships will make them believe

:54:50.:54:54.

that they can come from a position down. Now both boats are closing on

:54:55.:55:06.

the Americans. That is about 150 metres remaining. It is very

:55:07.:55:10.

unlikely that the British will get the Americans. But the British are

:55:11.:55:18.

coming and up goes the rate. The Americans are tiring. Surely they

:55:19.:55:22.

will not do this. The last few strokes. Great Britain get the

:55:23.:55:28.

silver and they should be very proud of that, taking out New Zealand.

:55:29.:55:34.

There was a moment 100 metres out from the line when the gold medal

:55:35.:55:38.

was on. Fantastic racing from the British group. Sore legs. Perhaps

:55:39.:55:45.

that took it out of them in the closing 200. There was a moment when

:55:46.:55:51.

they needed one more push. I am not saying they are not right on the

:55:52.:55:59.

edge because they absolutely are. They will come away from Lucerne

:56:00.:56:04.

with their heads held high. This really is a benchmark because they

:56:05.:56:08.

have beaten New Zealand who were silver medallists last year. They

:56:09.:56:14.

took it out hard and they took it in hard, said that is brilliant. They

:56:15.:56:21.

put themselves in that position and face the challenge of the Kiwi and

:56:22.:56:27.

they've dealt with that and then charged on the Americans. They have

:56:28.:56:30.

given the selectors the real headache going forward! There is

:56:31.:56:40.

doubling up going on. The Americans are a class boat. They have had a

:56:41.:56:47.

history of doubling up. They have the experience. But the British crew

:56:48.:56:56.

look really good. They looked good in the first 500. But to be able to

:56:57.:57:03.

forge on and not let their heads go down. That is really tough racing

:57:04.:57:10.

and they should be pleased with that. When it has got tough, they

:57:11.:57:16.

have answered the questions. They have got 68 days to sort the crew

:57:17.:57:20.

out and make sure they are on the top of the podium at rear. Good on

:57:21.:57:30.

them. Absolutely, it is a fantastic era for the women's eight. It is all

:57:31.:57:39.

coming together. Not a bad day at the

:57:40.:57:44.

Garry mentioned that has given a headache to the selectors. A superb

:57:45.:57:49.

performance. A fantastic performance. I was disappointed with

:57:50.:57:54.

the European performance of three weeks ago. Where they won. Where

:57:55.:58:03.

they won, but they only beat fifth and sixth place, that was a bit more

:58:04.:58:11.

impressive. We knew Canada was a bit shaky because they got beaten at the

:58:12.:58:20.

first race by the Dutch. You thought the Canadians may not have adjusted

:58:21.:58:28.

to the travel, but they did not have the pace here. The Americans were

:58:29.:58:37.

doubling up, half the crew were doubling up, they have doubled up in

:58:38.:58:40.

the history of them dealing the eighth. It is normally just two

:58:41.:58:48.

girls, not half the boat. We know the Dutch were quick and the Dutch

:58:49.:58:52.

got beaten by the Romanians. But there is a medal and I thought that

:58:53.:58:56.

was a brilliant performance. After the European Championships British

:58:57.:59:02.

rowing came out and said that Granger and Thornbury would not be

:59:03.:59:06.

in the double, they will be considered for the eighth. How will

:59:07.:59:10.

that have sat with those eight members of the crew who were

:59:11.:59:15.

preparing for Lucerne at the time. Some will think, good, we have got

:59:16.:59:18.

potentially stronger athletes coming in. But people will be thinking, it

:59:19.:59:25.

might be my seat that is up for grabs by somebody else, and they

:59:26.:59:30.

have raised their game. It will be difficult to change anybody within

:59:31.:59:35.

that. As the commentator said, the selectors have problems. James and

:59:36.:59:41.

Garry, this is not only a headache, how do you run a selection procedure

:59:42.:59:45.

for an eight with less than ten weeks to go before the Olympics? The

:59:46.:59:52.

coaches will have their gut feeling. They have an individual performance

:59:53.:59:56.

parameters for the whole squad, so they have got those two draw on. I

:59:57.:00:02.

do not think any of us expected the women's eight to be in this

:00:03.:00:06.

position, that close to the Americans, a silver medal at

:00:07.:00:10.

Lucerne. The eight can only get stronger. They have got to make the

:00:11.:00:15.

right to change, but it is not as though you are going to lose people

:00:16.:00:19.

to the women's double, you will gain people. What they have to do now, as

:00:20.:00:27.

Steve said, they raised again for the European Championships to hear,

:00:28.:00:30.

change or no change they have to have that believe that they can take

:00:31.:00:35.

on the Americans for 2000 metres, not just sections of the race. Are

:00:36.:00:41.

we moving the women's eight from a possible Olympic medal into a

:00:42.:00:49.

probable category? Without a doubt. Zoe has got her place sorted. She

:00:50.:00:53.

must be thinking, silver medal today, it can only get stronger.

:00:54.:00:58.

They have to believe that from now on. In rowing terms, in sporting

:00:59.:01:04.

terms, it would be a disaster from here if they do not get it. The

:01:05.:01:08.

pieces are all coming together. Would the coach asked the cops which

:01:09.:01:22.

boat felt best to you? Zoe will give feedback in all of that. It is one

:01:23.:01:27.

race. They will have a lot of information. They have the

:01:28.:01:32.

information in the ergometer from the winter. It will not just be the

:01:33.:01:37.

flip of the coin in all of this and they will know. They cannot test it

:01:38.:01:40.

in the vote right now but I think the selectors will have a good idea

:01:41.:01:45.

about who the weaker rowers are. Without a doubt, I would be

:01:46.:01:50.

seriously disappointed if that eight doesn't come away from the Olympics

:01:51.:01:57.

without a medal. Just to jump in, yes, sometimes you can put stronger

:01:58.:02:02.

athletes in, but it doesn't always make the boat go faster. There is,

:02:03.:02:06.

Rhodri and spirit within a boat as well and that has got to be taken

:02:07.:02:16.

into the occasion. -- camaraderie. Do you think that Vicky Thornley and

:02:17.:02:20.

Katherine Grainger will be in the women's aid for Rio definitely? I

:02:21.:02:25.

can't say definitely. On paper and on testing they are at the top end

:02:26.:02:29.

of the team. That puts them at the top end of the eighth. As athletes

:02:30.:02:37.

they are good enough to be in that group, but that doesn't always

:02:38.:02:41.

materialise in boat speed. You would hope that putting stronger athletes

:02:42.:02:49.

in, especially into an age where big ergometer scores count, that that

:02:50.:02:52.

would translate into performance. Great silver medal, dominating the

:02:53.:03:02.

Canadians in bronze, and I will cut it there!

:03:03.:03:07.

I will hand over to the commentators. What a professional

:03:08.:03:14.

you are! We turn our attention to the men's doubled. Two British crews

:03:15.:03:21.

in this, Jack Beaumont and Nicholas Middleton and Jonny Watson and John

:03:22.:03:26.

Collins. I know exactly what you were talking about! The bricks in

:03:27.:03:36.

lanes number one and two. Martin Sinkovic and his brother in lane

:03:37.:03:40.

four. New Zealand in five and Lithuania in lane and Lithuania

:03:41.:03:44.

inlay number six. Again this is a very good set of results. Great

:03:45.:03:50.

Britain have got two boats. Jack Beaumont has raced already, in the

:03:51.:03:55.

bow seat in the quadruple sculls. Here he is with Nicholas Middleton

:03:56.:04:00.

inlay number one. These guys are the guys for the future. They have had a

:04:01.:04:07.

sensational last 18 months. Beaumont and Middleton. That in amongst it

:04:08.:04:12.

they will get great experience. Watson and Collins was sixth in the

:04:13.:04:16.

European champions recently and eight at the Worlds, but they need

:04:17.:04:20.

to step it up because they have young bucks on their tail. Marcel

:04:21.:04:26.

Hacker and Stephan Krueger from Germany, silver medallists, in the

:04:27.:04:30.

middle of your picture inlay number three. The outstanding crew in a

:04:31.:04:33.

multicoloured chessboard, the Croatians. They really have been the

:04:34.:04:38.

crew to watch. Everybody is excited about what they are doing here in

:04:39.:04:45.

the skull. Yes, the Croatian brothers are phenomenal. The way

:04:46.:04:49.

they have dominated the field over 18 months is impressive. The British

:04:50.:04:53.

doubles are young bucks, but the Croatians are the same age. As good

:04:54.:04:58.

and young as the British boys are, they could be racing the Croatian

:04:59.:05:02.

guys for the next ten years and at the moment they have ground to make

:05:03.:05:09.

up. It is not surprising that Watson and Collins are leading at the

:05:10.:05:13.

moment. As strong as Nick Middleton is, Jack Beaumont has already done

:05:14.:05:20.

metres race already which will take some out. This is turning into a

:05:21.:05:31.

decent scrap. The Croatians are being led by half a length. Croatia

:05:32.:05:42.

valiant in the stroke seat. Martin Sinkovic in the bow street. Pressure

:05:43.:05:47.

being put on them by New Zealand. The expectation in the middle 1000,

:05:48.:05:56.

if you are undefeated, two years world champions... Actually in 2015

:05:57.:05:59.

in the European Championships they pulled out. They won at the first

:06:00.:06:05.

World Cup regatta earlier in the season. When they do race, they blow

:06:06.:06:09.

the field apart. Coming up to the halfway mark, you would expect some

:06:10.:06:14.

kind of fireworks now. The two time world champions from Croatia. They

:06:15.:06:21.

need to turn the handle a bit. They are led into it by New Zealand.

:06:22.:06:30.

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

:06:31.:06:36.

stopped the rot, if you can call being half a second down the rot.

:06:37.:06:43.

They have held the New Zealanders leading into halfway. The third 500,

:06:44.:06:47.

this is where they will push into the lead again, I think. Croatia

:06:48.:06:55.

coming away now from Germany. Clearwater developing. They are

:06:56.:07:02.

putting their own pressure on. Looking so much nicer from a

:07:03.:07:06.

Croatian point of view. This wing of the backstroke and it runs nicely.

:07:07.:07:10.

Marcel Hacker to the right of your picture. He looks relaxed. He is a

:07:11.:07:17.

wily old character. World Champion back in the day in the single skull

:07:18.:07:19.

and plenty of medals under his belt. Jonny Walton and Collins as well. I

:07:20.:07:39.

think for New Zealand the goose is cooked. They are poking the big bear

:07:40.:07:47.

with a stick. I think they will reap the anger of the Croatian crew. This

:07:48.:07:51.

crew do not give you an easy ride. They don't just win. They show their

:07:52.:07:59.

class. 500 metres to go and the Kiwis are holding up well. I expect

:08:00.:08:03.

the Croatians will have clear water by the end. There is a fight here

:08:04.:08:07.

but it will be a big turnaround for Jonny Walton and John Collins to

:08:08.:08:11.

hang on. It is like they are fighting just to hang onto the pack.

:08:12.:08:15.

The Germans alone another three and Lithuania in number six, they have

:08:16.:08:19.

been out of the picture but they have been in amongst it for the

:08:20.:08:22.

medals in the closing stages here. Out front, Croatia continue. They

:08:23.:08:31.

are powering on. They have got the speed. They want to win by clear

:08:32.:08:38.

water. We can compare where Great Britain is, slightly back on

:08:39.:08:42.

Germany. Great Britain have got to watch out for Lithuania. Up to 41

:08:43.:08:52.

strokes per minute, 300 metres out. Great Britain on 40, so brave to

:08:53.:08:57.

take it on here. Support for Jonny Walton and John Collins, just to get

:08:58.:09:01.

a good result psychologically for them. They have not had an easy time

:09:02.:09:06.

over the last couple of years. They have cemented it again in this event

:09:07.:09:12.

in this boat. Anything above fourth place would be a good result for the

:09:13.:09:20.

British doubles. 50 out now. Croatia starting to ease off. They know they

:09:21.:09:24.

have got control. New Zealand holding off from Lithuania, who have

:09:25.:09:27.

been out of the picture, coming through and getting the bronze

:09:28.:09:32.

medal. Germany starting to suffer in fourth place. There was too much in

:09:33.:09:37.

the closing 50 metres for Jonny Walton and John Collins for Great

:09:38.:09:43.

Britain. Jack Beaumont and Nick Middleton just suffering now. The

:09:44.:09:46.

pain in his legs must be too much. They come over and finished now. We

:09:47.:09:56.

are joined by three members of the women's silver medal winning eight.

:09:57.:10:00.

How was that performance? Really good. We wanted to win the race, to

:10:01.:10:04.

be honest, so we have that in our sights for Rio. That is probably the

:10:05.:10:09.

best we have done against the world Olympic champions. Just if you

:10:10.:10:14.

inches short of them. Polly, you were saying before the race about

:10:15.:10:17.

your back and the injury and this has been a long road for this unit.

:10:18.:10:24.

Sure. We formed quite late compared to some crews. We are relatively

:10:25.:10:30.

new. Some girls including myself have been injured. So to be able to

:10:31.:10:34.

form such a great unit, and it really is a great unit, is

:10:35.:10:39.

tantamount to the girls, all nine of us and our coaches. We are

:10:40.:10:44.

delighted, but as Jeff said, we want one better at Rio. The challenge now

:10:45.:10:51.

is coming for this group of athletes, this group of mentalities,

:10:52.:10:54.

that selection is up in the air again in the coming weeks between

:10:55.:10:59.

now and Rio. Yes, there is a question of selection, but as we

:11:00.:11:02.

have shown from this performance, this crew is capable of winning a

:11:03.:11:06.

gold medal at Rio and I strongly believe that if the crew is made

:11:07.:11:09.

stronger in the next few weeks, that is great, but if this is the

:11:10.:11:13.

strongest crew we have, then I am really happy about it and really

:11:14.:11:17.

excited for the next few months. What were you saying to the crew in

:11:18.:11:23.

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

:11:24.:11:34.

am still deaf in my left ear. Go quicker? You need to go and get your

:11:35.:11:37.

medal. Congratulations. As they exit stage left, we turn our attention to

:11:38.:11:44.

the man's single and one of the most enduring and passionate growers that

:11:45.:11:52.

the men have. Alan Campbell. The men's single girls being chased hard

:11:53.:11:59.

by Drysdale from New Zealand. The Olympic champion, the two guys here,

:12:00.:12:03.

have dominated this event over the last ten years. Five-time World

:12:04.:12:11.

Champion. In this third 500 metres, this is where we would really expect

:12:12.:12:15.

him to push them hard. He knows how to work the third 500. As a world

:12:16.:12:23.

and Olympic champion, he has the overlap and he is maintaining that.

:12:24.:12:27.

He will hound the World Champion throughout this third portion. He is

:12:28.:12:34.

looking over at Drysdale. Taking two more strokes a minute

:12:35.:12:57.

than Drysdale. Drysdale has held Synek's move. My feeling is this

:12:58.:13:03.

will be level with 200 metres to go. Both scullers working into a race of

:13:04.:13:09.

their own. The bottom picture shows the speed of the finishing skull

:13:10.:13:14.

Alan Campbell in a number six. If we can get a wide angle, we can see

:13:15.:13:17.

where he is, but at the moment he went through the halfway mark in

:13:18.:13:21.

fourth place. He will need to turn the screw. We are respecting a big

:13:22.:13:27.

push from him. 1500 metres. The man's single sculls final. But at

:13:28.:13:31.

the gap between the two leading scullers in the world right now and

:13:32.:13:38.

Alan Campbell in bottom left of York screen coming through in fifth, so

:13:39.:13:40.

well off the medals at this point. If he has a big 250, he might be in

:13:41.:13:46.

contention with the Dutch skull, Broenik, who was 14th at the

:13:47.:13:49.

European Championships three weeks ago. Synek has responded well.

:13:50.:14:00.

Drysdale nearly closed in on. Drysdale's approach is this. It is

:14:01.:14:07.

like a lumberjack chopping his way through a massive tree. 2000 metres

:14:08.:14:11.

to get that treat down. You all start off at eight brochures pace

:14:12.:14:17.

but the tree is starting to give and Synek will be crushed under it if he

:14:18.:14:23.

is not careful. The Cuban is fighting it out for the bronze medal

:14:24.:14:28.

alongside Broenik from the Netherlands in low number one. Look

:14:29.:14:32.

at that face. Relentless from Drysdale. The Olympic champion has

:14:33.:14:37.

clawed his way back. Now he is driving the nail in the coffin here.

:14:38.:14:47.

Synek has given up. The pain that Drysdale is feeling, he is

:14:48.:14:51.

inflicting more of it on Synek and he has broken Synek. This memory

:14:52.:14:55.

will serve Drysdale in Rio and Synek will remember how he got broken, so

:14:56.:15:01.

this is a massive nail in the coffin for Synek in Rio. Both scullers

:15:02.:15:07.

easing off, and Drysdale knows that his first appearance in 2016 has

:15:08.:15:10.

been exactly what was called for. He has nailed Synek of the Czech

:15:11.:15:16.

Republic. Rodriguez gets the bronze medal. These three float over the

:15:17.:15:22.

line. Alan Campbell, well, he is fifth, which is much better than he

:15:23.:15:26.

was three weeks ago. And he went for it. Third place just before the

:15:27.:15:31.

halfway mark. He went for it and found out where he is at. Where he

:15:32.:15:40.

is at is not where he wants to be. Drysdale, Synek and Rodriguez in

:15:41.:15:44.

first, second and third. I have written out Alan Campbell's

:15:45.:15:57.

International results. Six, seven, four, five, second, third, third,

:15:58.:16:04.

bronze in London, fourth and eighth last year. With that parabola do we

:16:05.:16:11.

think it is beyond hope that he will get on the podium? It is very

:16:12.:16:16.

unlikely, but reading at those results come he has been in our

:16:17.:16:21.

sculling team for many years. Maybe as it is going the wrong way, even

:16:22.:16:26.

though this is a good performance on the last couple of years, and it has

:16:27.:16:30.

given him hope, I chatted to him yesterday and he is buoyant and

:16:31.:16:34.

confident, but we have other sculling boat that are doing well.

:16:35.:16:39.

Yes, I think it is impossible for him to get onto the podium. And a

:16:40.:16:44.

word about men's sculling in general. As the senior member he

:16:45.:16:49.

leads that team. How many medals should we expect from the single,

:16:50.:16:57.

the double, the quad in Rio but? If we get one medal that would be a

:16:58.:17:02.

fantastic result. You have got to put the quadruple at the top, then

:17:03.:17:06.

the double and bend the single. Or on their day you cannot write any of

:17:07.:17:11.

them off. Hopefully, fingers crossed, one quad medal. Let's turn

:17:12.:17:16.

our attention to the lightweight men's doubles. William Fletcher and

:17:17.:17:22.

Richard Chambers are in this. We talked to Richard. Has the hand

:17:23.:17:32.

injury stalled any preparations? It has upset it a little bit, but it is

:17:33.:17:37.

one of these things. Things knock you off course and you have to get

:17:38.:17:42.

back on. It meant I could not do trials, but as soon as it happened I

:17:43.:17:47.

got straight on the bike and I have been training whilst the rest of the

:17:48.:17:50.

team have been prepping and doing trials. Your team-mates will suggest

:17:51.:17:58.

the links you go to to miss the trials! Is there more pressure going

:17:59.:18:04.

into the Olympics but in my in terms of selection this year it has been

:18:05.:18:09.

less so because we formed ourselves as a good double last year and the

:18:10.:18:14.

coaches had the confidence in us to carry that on. We have had through

:18:15.:18:18.

the winter months the time in the doubled that we did not have last

:18:19.:18:23.

year, so they are giving us every opportunity they can to go and beat

:18:24.:18:28.

Olympic champions. That is a different kind of pressure. That

:18:29.:18:31.

relationship that you built last year in the boat culminated in that

:18:32.:18:35.

terrific final at the World Championships. It is France and

:18:36.:18:44.

Great Britain. Do you feel you are better equipped now to move up one

:18:45.:18:47.

step higher on the podium? Definitely. We went into the world

:18:48.:18:54.

champions last year and we did not have a clean run with checkups and

:18:55.:18:59.

injuries. Two guys sculling in two different ways and we were physical

:19:00.:19:04.

and muscled the boat along. Now we have honed in on the finesse and the

:19:05.:19:09.

technique, but also will has moved on physically. I have even more

:19:10.:19:18.

confidence in my team-mate and that is great for me. Through the 1000

:19:19.:19:27.

metres, the halfway mark in the men's lightweight double sculls.

:19:28.:19:42.

That should scare the opposition. If you are breaking up a World

:19:43.:20:25.

Championship crew, your new man has to be pretty good. If you are making

:20:26.:20:30.

the best in the world better, this is what happens. The Norwegians have

:20:31.:20:39.

had a good winter. The Norwegians do a lot of training with the

:20:40.:20:42.

lightweight double and they are doing very well. The Irish

:20:43.:20:50.

lightweight double, one of them is as strong as heavyweight. It has not

:20:51.:20:57.

quite transferred into the boat yet, but it is looking very good. There

:20:58.:21:03.

is still clear water from France over the former world champions,

:21:04.:21:10.

Norway. This could be an extraordinary last 500 metres for

:21:11.:21:15.

the British. France have gone. They can still be caught by the

:21:16.:21:21.

Norwegians. They are in lane number four. The South Africans are in Lane

:21:22.:21:32.

number two, both 29 years of age, both Olympic champions in the light

:21:33.:21:41.

four in London. Fletcher and Chambers in five on the other side

:21:42.:21:46.

of the course. Now they come to wards the closing stages. You can

:21:47.:21:52.

see how the French have responded to Norway's push. The French are very

:21:53.:21:59.

efficient. In the middle part of the race they will be fast and it has

:22:00.:22:05.

not cost them. They are sending the message to the rest of the world.

:22:06.:22:16.

Their technique has not changed. It is good to see if the Irish could

:22:17.:22:21.

back up their European Championships. They are strong boys,

:22:22.:22:27.

so we will see what happens. So France are out in the front and the

:22:28.:22:30.

Irish are pushing on hard against Norway. It is silvered to Norway and

:22:31.:22:36.

South Africa are taking the bronze. The Irish get for. It will be a

:22:37.:22:41.

disappointment for William Fletcher and Richard Chambers, but remember

:22:42.:22:47.

this is their first time out in this Olympic year. They have got one more

:22:48.:22:55.

regatta in three weeks' time. On the day France win. They looked

:22:56.:23:02.

devastating, a new combination. There are DOS lightweight offence

:23:03.:23:21.

for the men in Rio. The lightweight men's four is the other one and they

:23:22.:23:25.

raced this morning as well. Let's see how they got on.

:23:26.:23:39.

This is where we watch in this third 500 who goes first and how you go.

:23:40.:23:50.

Do you step up and increase the boat speed? You can start to see at the

:23:51.:23:58.

top of your picture the French, the bronze medallists from last year.

:23:59.:24:06.

They have been taken on by Switzerland, the world and European

:24:07.:24:10.

champions. New Zealand are in Lane number three. They won the first

:24:11.:24:14.

heat. You expect the heat winners, the fastest qualifiers in the final

:24:15.:24:24.

and they are showing why they got first in the heat. The French knew

:24:25.:24:31.

they had to take a risk early on and go out hard. That has not worked.

:24:32.:24:39.

The Swiss are very good in the last half of the race. But they will be

:24:40.:24:46.

disappointed to be a lengthy behind New Zealand. Great Britain are still

:24:47.:24:53.

in fifth position. Netherlands are in Lane number six out of your shot.

:24:54.:25:03.

Britain are forth now. 1500 metres remaining. New Zealand are out in

:25:04.:25:09.

first. Chambers is in the stroke seat for

:25:10.:25:26.

Great Britain. They will need a push to get through the Danes in Lane

:25:27.:25:31.

four. Still pushing hard on the fireside, France in Lane number one,

:25:32.:25:36.

the bronze medallists from last year. I think the Swiss will try and

:25:37.:25:47.

close the gap on New Zealand. If they close the gap, that will give

:25:48.:25:51.

them something to go for as they prepare for Rio. I do not think the

:25:52.:26:01.

British will catch the Danes. On home water is Switzerland Lane

:26:02.:26:06.

number two. They are responding to the cowbells, the traditional home

:26:07.:26:11.

support noise. New Zealand continued to lead and Denmark is being put

:26:12.:26:17.

under pressure from Great Britain in Lane number five. New Zealand are

:26:18.:26:23.

out at front and they are coming up to the line. Switzerland being put

:26:24.:26:28.

under a tremendous amount of pressure from Denmark. Denmark are

:26:29.:26:34.

just shy and Great Britain are caught on the fireside by the French

:26:35.:26:39.

and that is very disappointing for the British crew and their heads go

:26:40.:26:44.

down accordingly. A tremendous result from New Zealand coming

:26:45.:26:47.

through in fine form in that last 250 metres. 5.3 seconds is too far

:26:48.:26:56.

off the lead. Paul Thomson is the chief coach of

:26:57.:27:07.

the lightweight. A quick reaction to the men's double and four. It is a

:27:08.:27:15.

good step, but that was not their best race today. Their heat was

:27:16.:27:20.

better than that. Not quite the right rhythm, but we can do better

:27:21.:27:25.

than that. An update on the women's lightweight double which is absent.

:27:26.:27:32.

They were a bit cooked going into Brandenburg, but they are on a

:27:33.:27:35.

recovery programme and we are looking for them to make their mark.

:27:36.:27:41.

When did you take the decision about the women's double sculls? That was

:27:42.:27:49.

after Brandenburg and part of the review. Strategically we have got a

:27:50.:27:54.

fabulous women's here who could not race today to illness, but we are

:27:55.:27:59.

looking to push into the middle with the two qualifying boat behind that

:28:00.:28:04.

and the eight and the double. We are not going to talk about the

:28:05.:28:08.

selection procedure, because the athletes have not been told, but

:28:09.:28:13.

that has raised the question of where you not worried that the

:28:14.:28:17.

women's eight were racing under a cloud because of the selection

:28:18.:28:26.

procedure that is about to happen? Yes, of course, the athletes want to

:28:27.:28:30.

have the best people in the boat and the best boat to perform in Rio as

:28:31.:28:38.

well. Yes, I ensure it has been uncomfortable for some, but they the

:28:39.:28:43.

bigger picture as well. When was the last time that Katherine Grainger

:28:44.:28:49.

Road Suite internationally? Do you mean head of the child? No, I do not

:28:50.:29:01.

mean that. It must be 2004. So we expect to see her in sweep capacity?

:29:02.:29:10.

Her accumulated score is the best amongst the group that we have got

:29:11.:29:18.

out racing in those boats. They have been training in sweep boats, so we

:29:19.:29:21.

can get the groups together when we get back. I do not know if you can

:29:22.:29:30.

answer this, but with the double skull, will that be put on after the

:29:31.:29:35.

final of the eight? How will that come in? Clearly we will look at the

:29:36.:29:44.

eighth and see where that gets to concede what happens with the

:29:45.:29:50.

double. I am happy with the standard of those two boats, and I have got a

:29:51.:29:54.

lot of confidence in those athletes, but we need to see where we get to

:29:55.:29:58.

in the next few weeks. We sent Darren Campbell along to meet the

:29:59.:30:00.

men's chief coach Jurgen Grobbelaar. Do you see yourself as a coach,

:30:01.:30:18.

mental, manager? Maybe everything a little bit. You have to be a coach,

:30:19.:30:24.

you have to be a manager and amend tour as well to give advice. You

:30:25.:30:30.

have to be a psychologist, there are a lot of different parts that make

:30:31.:30:38.

an overall good coach. In the sporting world, which coaches do you

:30:39.:30:43.

admire? I was always impressed with Sir Ferguson. I think patients,

:30:44.:30:53.

staying in that job, staying in football and managing that for 25

:30:54.:30:57.

years successfully, I always think that is something challenging. Is it

:30:58.:31:05.

one of the toughest jobs, managing egos yes, I think so, especially

:31:06.:31:11.

when you are bringing guys together with different characters and

:31:12.:31:15.

different strengths and weaknesses, I think that is a big challenge.

:31:16.:31:25.

Could you give me three characteristics that helped to build

:31:26.:31:32.

an Olympic champion? First, they must like the sport because doing

:31:33.:31:36.

high-performance sport is not always sunshine. It is tough, hard work,

:31:37.:31:43.

daily work, it is not just talking, you have to do it. The third thing

:31:44.:31:50.

with all the pain and the problems, you should still have fun. If you do

:31:51.:31:55.

not have fun and you are not finding the fun in your sport, and fun is

:31:56.:32:02.

for me when you go home you are totally exhausted, that is why you

:32:03.:32:03.

are here. That is part of the plan. You mention Sir Alex Ferguson

:32:04.:32:15.

earlier. How does it make you feel when people call you the greatest? I

:32:16.:32:21.

leave that to other people. The coach doesn't get any thing for

:32:22.:32:24.

being the greatest. I have to do it again and again. I leave it to other

:32:25.:32:31.

people. There are lots of other great coaches out there and you have

:32:32.:32:34.

to be in the moment the greatest, not what you did in the past. Now we

:32:35.:32:46.

can see is a man's eights loaded up on the starting pontoon for their

:32:47.:32:50.

race. I will hand you over to James Cracknell and Garry Herbert. Thank

:32:51.:32:59.

you. Russia in a number one, Great Britain in two, Netherlands in

:33:00.:33:03.

three, splitting the great rivalry in this category over the last

:33:04.:33:07.

couple of years, because Germany, European champions this year, are

:33:08.:33:11.

number four. New Zealand five and USA in lane number six. The clatter

:33:12.:33:17.

of the start and through the first 100 metres. 45 strokes per minute.

:33:18.:33:26.

Maximum spread. The real exponents of doing that in the first 100

:33:27.:33:32.

metres Germany. Germany found some form in the European Championships

:33:33.:33:36.

but mainly because the British eight, Jurgen Grobler, he has the

:33:37.:33:43.

engine out of the team that won gold last year and put it into the four

:33:44.:33:49.

but still a pretty smart eight. Yes. Changes had to be made. We have

:33:50.:33:56.

depth on both sides of the rowing and sculling equation. The bottom

:33:57.:34:00.

line is that even with only one person out of the eight, you are

:34:01.:34:06.

dealing with tiny margins. The good news is that if they can pull a good

:34:07.:34:13.

result out here, that gives a huge amount of confidence going forwards.

:34:14.:34:17.

New Zealand has problems. They looked good yesterday but not quite

:34:18.:34:25.

so good in the heat. The Dutch had a stonking heat, so all to play for.

:34:26.:34:34.

The Green vote of Germany is sitting currently in fifth position. --

:34:35.:34:41.

green boat. The crew is settling into their rhythm. They have

:34:42.:34:53.

switched if you people around. Tom Ransley has moved from seventh to

:34:54.:34:59.

three. Matt Langridge has just come in after being ill. They are not at

:35:00.:35:04.

100% in terms of full capacity but they will still be very competitive.

:35:05.:35:09.

The assumption saying that it is that every other boat is totally

:35:10.:35:14.

free from illness. When athletes are training this hard, on the

:35:15.:35:21.

boundaries, pushing so hard, nobody will be 100% until they get to the

:35:22.:35:26.

Olympics. You would be wrong to assume every crew is totally healthy

:35:27.:35:29.

but at the same time you know that the British crew is not at full

:35:30.:35:39.

strength. It is going to show. At the last Olympics, Germany were

:35:40.:35:42.

undefeated through to London and won the gold. They are being pushed hard

:35:43.:35:51.

as we reach the 1000 metres mark in the final at Lucerne. Great Britain

:35:52.:36:00.

still in amongst it in fourth place. Not too bad for the British crew.

:36:01.:36:05.

They can step up here. But in the race for lanes earlier in the

:36:06.:36:10.

regatta, the Dutch beat the Germans. It was a surprise. We were saying

:36:11.:36:16.

that nobody turns it on in the race for lanes but the Dutch did. The

:36:17.:36:19.

Germans have got to do something here. And the Americans as well. You

:36:20.:36:28.

mentioned the top four British guys in the four, and the top four

:36:29.:36:33.

American guys are in the American four, and they have had a very good

:36:34.:36:38.

second 500 and they are ahead of Germany, Britain and New Zealand at

:36:39.:36:41.

the Dutch are having a great race. Different crews are finding their

:36:42.:36:46.

form and they want to lay a marker down for the Olympics. How they do

:36:47.:36:48.

in this regatta goes towards how they do in the heats for the

:36:49.:36:55.

Olympics. The Germans thinking they might have it slightly easier with

:36:56.:37:02.

the British not 100%, they now are being chased by Holland and America

:37:03.:37:08.

as well as Britain and New Zealand so an interesting last 800 metres.

:37:09.:37:13.

An Olympic qualification regatta at the beginning of this week for the

:37:14.:37:18.

final booking, and the United States got that one and they are taking it

:37:19.:37:22.

on. The crew is starting to come back on the Dutch. They are getting

:37:23.:37:29.

closer. Starting to squeeze in an four, Germany, bringing with them in

:37:30.:37:34.

two, Great Britain. Not over for the British in the medals but the

:37:35.:37:39.

American crew, Austin and Robert, the stern pair, driving the crew

:37:40.:37:45.

along. They know the fight is going on. The Germans are showing that

:37:46.:37:52.

they don't let people get away. If they have had a good middle part,

:37:53.:37:56.

they don't let them get away in the last and they will hunt down the

:37:57.:38:01.

Dutch. The British came back on the Germans as we were watching the

:38:02.:38:05.

Americans. They have stretched away, down to a third of a length. The

:38:06.:38:10.

Dutch, the Germans, the USA closest to us and Great Britain in fourth

:38:11.:38:16.

position. Change or no change, you don't want to be in fourth.

:38:17.:38:21.

Especially against two crews that you haven't lost against in five

:38:22.:38:26.

years. 75 out from the line-out. The Netherlands are holding on from

:38:27.:38:31.

Germany. The Americans, what a sprint! They are going to come

:38:32.:38:36.

through on the line from Germany! The Americans are pushing hard to

:38:37.:38:41.

the line. But the Netherlands get the gold and Germany and the United

:38:42.:38:45.

States of America will have to wait to see. Germany getting second, USA

:38:46.:38:51.

getting bronze. Great Britain being pushed off the medal podium into

:38:52.:38:56.

fourth, we think. Absolutely outstanding result from the

:38:57.:38:59.

Netherlands. Earlier in this regatta they showed a bit of form and

:39:00.:39:04.

everybody thought that was going to be fly and die, but they made a big

:39:05.:39:09.

stab and a big mark in this final. Beating the Olympic champions to

:39:10.:39:14.

boot. Walking round the boat park and seeing the Dutch eight warming

:39:15.:39:19.

up, they are big guys. Powerful looking unit. The American chief

:39:20.:39:23.

coach must be kicking himself, because if they had had their top

:39:24.:39:27.

four athletes in the eight, they would be looking at gold medal now.

:39:28.:39:32.

The German coach must be kicking himself thinking they have lost over

:39:33.:39:35.

the last three years to Great Britain in this event, they have

:39:36.:39:38.

taken their engine room out, and now we have got to contend with the

:39:39.:39:44.

Netherlands! And the USA. You are right. A very rare situation. The

:39:45.:39:48.

Germans have been challenged by us and they have responded and

:39:49.:39:53.

responded. They probably saw the British are not 100% and we will

:39:54.:39:57.

have it our own way this weekend and that does show what overconfidence

:39:58.:40:04.

does. It means you don't come home with a gold or silver medal. Better

:40:05.:40:09.

to learn that lesson here than in Rio, but the reality is that is an

:40:10.:40:12.

experienced and they shouldn't have to learn that lesson. It will be

:40:13.:40:17.

hard to call where the gold medal is going to go in this event in Rio. So

:40:18.:40:22.

much happening from the European Championships three weeks ago to

:40:23.:40:26.

hear at Lucerne. The Americans will probably go back and we won't see

:40:27.:40:30.

them until Rio. They will not be around for Pozner and in three

:40:31.:40:33.

weeks, the final of the World Cup regattas. Exciting stuff. A surprise

:40:34.:40:44.

to see Germany not at the top of this. A surprise and I think the

:40:45.:40:50.

British can take a lot of confidence from this. Yes, in fourth, not the

:40:51.:40:57.

best, but Matt Langridge is in the seven man, rowing at four because he

:40:58.:41:05.

is not 100% and he has been ill. And Pete is not in it at all. A couple

:41:06.:41:13.

of gold medallists not in the boat, so they have strength to come back

:41:14.:41:16.

from. They will have fourth place hanging over their heads, motivating

:41:17.:41:21.

them for the next 68 days. Look how close the United States got. Just

:41:22.:41:25.

off the Olympic champions from Germany. A third of a length over

:41:26.:41:36.

Great Britain. On the day, the cloak of invincibility that Germany once

:41:37.:41:39.

held, that Great Britain held over the last few years, it seems to have

:41:40.:41:45.

been thrown away. Top of the pile here, the Netherlands, then Germany,

:41:46.:41:48.

and USA have come to the party and Great Britain in fourth.

:41:49.:41:55.

Steve, has the Netherlands winning that driven a coach and horses

:41:56.:42:01.

through the rankings for Rio? Very much though. As they said in

:42:02.:42:05.

commentary, the Germans will be thinking the British have not got

:42:06.:42:07.

their top guys in it, so we have this in the bag, but obviously they

:42:08.:42:12.

haven't. It always steps up in an Olympic year. The Dutch as a team,

:42:13.:42:17.

across-the-board, lightweights, women and heavyweight men, they have

:42:18.:42:23.

some really good athletes performing consistently and this proves it

:42:24.:42:26.

again. They have a bit of history in the eight as well, if you Olympics

:42:27.:42:32.

ago, but even in our time they have had an eight that has won an Olympic

:42:33.:42:39.

gold medal. A lot has been made about Jurgen Grobler choosing the

:42:40.:42:46.

men's four for the Olympic year, so is it too soon to say that his order

:42:47.:42:56.

of votes is working or not? -- boats. One gold is worth 1000

:42:57.:43:04.

silvers. That decision is made. Although fourth is a terrible

:43:05.:43:09.

position to come, I don't think Matt Langridge is 100% fit because he has

:43:10.:43:13.

been ill and he is not in his normal seat and Pete Reed isn't here. It

:43:14.:43:16.

has shown the Germans are not invincible and I think the Brits

:43:17.:43:20.

will take confidence from this. The guys that will be kicking

:43:21.:43:23.

themselves, the American chief coach, who put his best four guys in

:43:24.:43:28.

the American four, who got stuffed by the British and the Aussies, and

:43:29.:43:32.

his American eight only just lost here. If Jurgen Grobler is

:43:33.:43:37.

frustrated, you can have a beer with the American coach! What do you

:43:38.:43:43.

think it's realistic to expect from those three votes, pear, four and

:43:44.:43:50.

eight, in Rio? Jurgen Grobler is controlling all of this and he does

:43:51.:43:53.

well at the Olympic Games and you guys know that. I think gold for the

:43:54.:43:59.

four. They get so much speed when it goes to altitude. We have another

:44:00.:44:06.

World Cup in three weeks, but definitely a high medal, silver at

:44:07.:44:11.

least for the men's eight, and the men's pair, hard to call. Having

:44:12.:44:19.

watched the boats crossed the line, you are an optimistic macro definite

:44:20.:44:22.

silver? There is no definite. Not definite. Like to think they are

:44:23.:44:28.

capable of at least a silver medal in the men's eight. I will have to

:44:29.:44:33.

argue this later. Leave the married couple on the far side of the lake

:44:34.:44:38.

to sort out differences! There is a conspiracy theory that Jurgen

:44:39.:44:47.

manufactures the results, that he made you lose in the run-up to

:44:48.:44:51.

Sydney and Athens. I don't think that he is doing that. Definitely

:44:52.:44:54.

not. This is not the final World Cup race. There is another three weeks

:44:55.:45:00.

and illness coming into this second World Cup at Lucerne, so it is not

:45:01.:45:06.

all doom and gloom in disaster on the men's side. James said earlier

:45:07.:45:10.

in the commentary that if you go out and raise, then you cannot use that

:45:11.:45:19.

as an excuse. And then James has used it as an excuse! It is quite

:45:20.:45:24.

difficult. The one person that is standing right behind you that we

:45:25.:45:28.

should bring in at the moment is Helen Glover. We are going to talk

:45:29.:45:34.

to you in a minute. You are going to race in the women's pair. Before we

:45:35.:45:43.

talk to you, see how the event got on without you and Heather Stanning.

:45:44.:45:47.

totally exhausted, that is why you are here. That is part of the plan.

:45:48.:46:05.

New Zealand are in Lane number one. USA are in two.

:46:06.:46:22.

South Africa are in Lane number six. It is a tough call, it would have

:46:23.:46:38.

been a big decision to not want to race today. But if they had raced

:46:39.:46:43.

and they had not performed, they would have had to give excuses. They

:46:44.:46:48.

have made the tough corner, but there is nothing worse being a

:46:49.:46:56.

whinge if it does not go your way. You don't want to be like David Hay

:46:57.:46:59.

and moan about Vladimir Klitschko. They are being chased very hard by

:47:00.:47:21.

the USA. Both of those women were in the Olympic eights. The Kiwis will

:47:22.:47:29.

be doubling up in the women's eight later on. The American lead boat

:47:30.:47:34.

will want to clear this race out early and then start to ease down on

:47:35.:47:39.

the gas if they are to go again in the eighth. Yes, win this race, but

:47:40.:47:46.

win it as efficiently as possible and that means by as little as

:47:47.:47:48.

possible. We are coming into midway of the

:47:49.:48:11.

third 500 metres. Denmark in Lane number one.

:48:12.:48:24.

Rasmussen on that boat, plenty of pedigree in that family.

:48:25.:48:45.

500 metres remaining in this final, the women's pair at Lucerne. They

:48:46.:48:59.

pretty much lead from the first stroke. It is going to take a big

:49:00.:49:06.

push from the New Zealanders to get back on terms. They are being pushed

:49:07.:49:14.

hard by the USA. It is interesting the psychology. Glover and standing

:49:15.:49:22.

were going in with 34 consecutive victories together at international

:49:23.:49:27.

level. It was interesting, I watched this American pair yesterday and

:49:28.:49:32.

they are riding so much better today and that is because the pressure of

:49:33.:49:39.

Glover and standing is not there. When the cat is away, they have

:49:40.:49:46.

started to play properly. If they can do this, they will be a lot

:49:47.:49:50.

closer than they were earlier in the regatta. -- Heather Stanning.

:49:51.:50:07.

And still New Zealand come up. The water is an absolute millpond. It is

:50:08.:50:16.

fantastic as we come through the last 50 metres. It will be the

:50:17.:50:21.

United States of America holding of New Zealand. South Africa are

:50:22.:50:31.

pushing hard. Gold goes to USA and Silver goes to New Zealand. The

:50:32.:50:39.

bronze medal goes to USA two. Helen Glover and Heather Stanning did not

:50:40.:50:41.

start Does any of that lot who raced today

:50:42.:50:52.

scare you? You would not be an idiot to not have any fear, fear scares me

:50:53.:50:58.

and pushes me on. I do not go away from this weekend scared, I go away

:50:59.:51:03.

a bit frustrated we did not get to race in our final, but that is a

:51:04.:51:09.

decision we have to make today based on the fact that Heather had woken

:51:10.:51:13.

up and she had eaten something that made her not feel well. We even did

:51:14.:51:20.

our warm up. What kind of discussion did you have out on the water? It

:51:21.:51:27.

was not a discussion. I said to her, I trust your opinion and I would

:51:28.:51:32.

rather not race at all then race and not show ourselves in our true

:51:33.:51:39.

light. The last thing we want is to get to one kilometre and say, I

:51:40.:51:43.

should not have race. If there was any doubt, we said, let's not do it.

:51:44.:51:51.

She did have the warm up and she said, I am not right. We needed to

:51:52.:51:58.

push ourselves a little bit. She felt a bit sick and it was the right

:51:59.:52:03.

decision. It was frustrating, it could not be avoided, it is one of

:52:04.:52:09.

those things. Do you need that last World Cup race? Do you skip it? You

:52:10.:52:13.

have beaten everyone several times over, what is left to prove before

:52:14.:52:21.

Rio? I do not think we have anything to prove. Racing is something we

:52:22.:52:26.

enjoy doing and something we aim for every year, but we can get that from

:52:27.:52:32.

training. We have had a heat in a semifinal out here, we did not race

:52:33.:52:39.

the semifinal. Any racing time is quality time and time that you can

:52:40.:52:43.

learn about yourself. We have got another World Cup to come and that

:52:44.:52:50.

is important. What was it like standing on the bank? In one way it

:52:51.:52:58.

is frustrating, and I was pumped with adrenaline, but equally it is

:52:59.:53:04.

strangely reassuring. The boat that one we beat yesterday and we did not

:53:05.:53:08.

feel we had to do anything special. We have come away with a certain

:53:09.:53:13.

amount of information. The final is where you can judge the other boats,

:53:14.:53:20.

so we cannot say we did that. But we did raise our semifinal and we did

:53:21.:53:25.

beat them. We have now seen all the likely crews that will be at Rio. We

:53:26.:53:31.

have now seen everyone and we have not seen anyone doing anything

:53:32.:53:35.

bigger or better than we thought. We are still on our toes and very much

:53:36.:53:39.

in the frame of mind we have still got a lot of people to beat. Had you

:53:40.:53:46.

put your thoughts about going into the games? You are going in as

:53:47.:53:51.

Olympic champion. Have you thought about your mental part of the

:53:52.:53:56.

process? The World Cup is a stepping stone to the Olympics, is there any

:53:57.:54:03.

process to that? Definitely, one thing about the World Championships

:54:04.:54:08.

is you have to practice to defend a title and that comes into play at

:54:09.:54:15.

the Olympics. We see these races as stepping stones which is why you do

:54:16.:54:19.

not see us getting too distraught by missing this race. We need to train

:54:20.:54:23.

very well over the next couple of weeks. This is our block that gives

:54:24.:54:31.

us everything we will be in Rio. We have got an incredible team around

:54:32.:54:35.

us who help make these decisions easier and help us not question

:54:36.:54:40.

them. You are getting married after the Olympics, what is more exciting,

:54:41.:54:47.

the Olympics are getting married? It depends who is watching. If Steve is

:54:48.:54:50.

watching, it is definitely the wedding. Good answer, well done. The

:54:51.:54:58.

third World Cup will be coming up on BBC Two on the 19th of June and we

:54:59.:55:05.

have got coverage of that. Straight after as it is the Diamond league

:55:06.:55:07.

athletics from Oregon. After all that, if you have not had

:55:08.:55:27.

enough sport, there will be time for something a little bit different.

:55:28.:55:49.

Steve, I suppose one of the biggest stories that is circulating around

:55:50.:55:58.

sport I do retests of Beijing and London and rowing has been mentioned

:55:59.:56:01.

in dispatches in the Russian media. What do we make of all that?

:56:02.:56:08.

Obviously there are rumours that they are testing samples and there

:56:09.:56:12.

are supposed to be some positive ones. We just have to wait to make

:56:13.:56:17.

sure that what is being rumoured in the Russian press is actually fact.

:56:18.:56:22.

That may have an impact on our sport on one of the boats involved. That

:56:23.:56:28.

will put a question over Rio. Every games I have been involved in there

:56:29.:56:33.

are always drug issues, but this seems to be a step up to anything I

:56:34.:56:39.

have been involved in before. James and Garry, how would you sum up the

:56:40.:56:45.

British performers today? It is more realistic than the European

:56:46.:56:49.

Championships because the major players are here. On a scale of 1-10

:56:50.:56:58.

I would make it a six realistically. There were hardly any medals. We

:56:59.:57:02.

usually come away with quite a few. That was high. If I had to put my

:57:03.:57:09.

serious money on medals we get back from Rio I would say five with two

:57:10.:57:17.

gold medal. We are in that kind of ballpark here, but we cannot

:57:18.:57:20.

definitely do it. We are halfway there. I have got is on the medal

:57:21.:57:32.

table in fifth with one goal, two silvers and the bronze. I have got

:57:33.:57:36.

New Zealand at the top of the table followed by the USA and the Dutch

:57:37.:57:40.

after that and Germany with only two silver medal. The other headline,

:57:41.:57:47.

move the Rio Olympics over the virus. If you were an athlete now,

:57:48.:57:54.

there is the drugs, the virus, the staging of the games, the water

:57:55.:58:00.

quality. A quick answer. In every Olympics there is so much profile.

:58:01.:58:08.

There is less on this virus and there was on the norovirus at the

:58:09.:58:17.

other games. If somehow the stars can align, and the wait can be found

:58:18.:58:24.

through, we should not forget that the Olympics can be absolutely

:58:25.:58:25.

magical. Goodbye. Jessica Ennis-Hill is back on top of

:58:26.:58:51.

the world. Adam Peaty wins gold. Nicola Adams has just made history.

:58:52.:58:55.

Laura Trott is world champion. You might take a look at

:58:56.:59:04.

the Viper ACR and think, "That's going to be

:59:05.:59:07.

a handful to drive." The thing is,

:59:08.:59:09.

you'd be absolutely right!

:59:10.:59:12.

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