The Netherlands got their first Rowing gold of Rio 2016 today as Ilse Paulis and Maaike Head battled to a fairly tight victory in the Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls.
The Dutch pairing took gold in a time of 7:04.73, ahead of the Canadian pairing of Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee who took silver in a time of 7:05.88. The Chinese pairing of Huang Wenyi and Pan Feihong took bronze in a time of 7:06.49.
How they lined up
The Dutch pairing of Paulis and Head were the fastest through from the semifinals and were rewarded with a spot in lane four for their efforts in that stage. Meanwhile, the South African pairing of Kirsten Mccann and Ursula Grobler, who won the other semifinal, were in lane three.
Jennerich and Obee of Canada were in lane two after coming second in their semifinal whilst fellow semifinals runners-up, Sophie McKenzie and Julia Edwards of New Zealand, were in lane five.
The Irish pairing of Sinead Lynch and Claire Lamb, who had done well to reach the final, were in lane six whilst Wenyi and Feihong were in lane one; both pairings came third in their semifinals.
Story of the race
Overall it was a very even start, though it was the Chinese pairing, as well as the Canadian duo, who were marginally ahead in the early stages.
Whilst it was obvious early on that the Irish duo of Lynch and Lamb would not be a factor, the rest of the field was pretty close at the 500-meter stage, with Wenyi and Feihong just 0.43 ahead of Mccann and Grobler in second, and Paulis and Head in third.
Heading towards the 1000 meter mark it was those three pairings who looked as if they would take medals, seemingly pulling away from McKenzie and Edwards and Jennerich and Obee. At the halfway stage it was the South African pairing in the lead, with the Dutch just 0.16 seconds behind in second place.
Paulis and Head began to take control shortly after the 1000 meter stage, edging ahead of Mccann and Grober, whilst the Chinese pairing was seemingly struggling to hold on; meanwhile, Jennerich and Obee of Canada were beginning to come back.
With just 500 meters to go the Dutch duo were almost a second ahead of the South Africans, with Canada edging China for the third spot. With world champions Mckenzie and Edwards further back, it had become a four-horse race.
With just a few hundred meters to go, it was certain that Paulis and Head would win, and they were able to hold on for an impressive victory. Behind them, a surge from the Canadian and Chinese teams left the South African pairing behind, with Jennerich and Obee holding off a fightback from Wenyi and Feihong to take silver.
Mccann and Grobler came in fourth place, with McKenzie and Edwards of New Zealand in fifth and Lynch and Lamb of Ireland in sixth.
