Women’s Four (W4-) – Final

A-Final 

The Netherlands had the fastest time coming through from the semifinals and they sat one lane over from Australia, winner of the other semifinals. The Dutch crew of Meester, Clevering, Florijn and Hogerwerf had a good starting pace but it was Australia at 39 strokes per minute that had the lead. A virtual line formed between Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States and at this stage the field was still tucked very closely together. The Netherlands were now moving up to challenge Australia which left Denmark hanging on to the bronze medal spot. Poland had done a push and closed on Denmark as the second half of the race came into view.

The Netherlands were at 38 strokes per minute and had found more speed. The Australians saw them coming and went to 39. The final sprint had begun and it was going to be a tight one. Both Australia and the Netherlands were at 40, so Australia went to 43 to win the race.

Results: AUS, NED, DEN, POL, ROU, USA

Sarah Hawe, Australia, Gold
“The field was so strong today so it’s really amazing to come away with the win! Last year we won silver, so we had a lot of determination to do better this year. I’ve never been to the Olympics before, so it would be really amazing to have the chance to go.”

Karolien Florijn, Netherlands, Silver
“I really think we could have won as we were just close behind Australia. It was still a great season and we’ve had a great performance.”

Frida Sanggaard Nielsen, Denmark, Bronze
“We expected to be able to go with the other crews, but we didn’t expect to medal! We’ve had a few back injuries recently which has hurt us a bit. This is a big relief, as we had big pressure on us before this regatta.”