Great Britain's rowers take a historic gold medal at Varies-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium
By Kaki Olsen
It is said that "the race is won in the last lap" and there is no better way to describe the gold medal race competed by Team Great Britain in the women's quadruple sculls on Wednesday, July 31. The photo finish was so close that 0.15 seconds separated the gold medal team from the silver.
The impossible dream?
Coming in first just ahead of the team from the Netherlands was the crew consisting of Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson, and Georgie Brayshaw.
The moment of realisation!!
— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 31, 2024
It went to down to a photo finish, but it was our women's quad sculls team that came out on top. The world champions become the Olympic champions, and in doing so write themselves into the history books 🤩
A gold in the event, the first ever! 🥇 https://t.co/vj4r2KGqo9 pic.twitter.com/4HcwWdSgts
According to the athlete profiles on TeamGB.com, Henry is a 22-year-old who won the GB Rowing Senior Team Trials in 2023, but also took the European and World championships in the quadruple scull.
Scott hails from Coleraine, Northern Ireland and previously rowed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She participated in Project Minerva, which studied the performance of female athletes and addressed the low bone density that caused her to be diagnosed and treated for osteopenia.
Brayshaw began rowing after a fall from a horse caused partial paralysis for a year. Now 30, she has recently broken the world record for 5 kilometers on the RP3 rowing machine. She comes to this quadruple scull having medaled in World and European championships.
Finally, Olympic dreams are often a long time in coming and Lola Anderson's story stands out:
"Gold also marked the end of an emotional chapter for Anderson who, after London 2012, wrote in her diary that she wanted to be Olympic champion before ripping the note out because she thought it was unachievable."
-Â Sportsbeat 2024
Anderson was given that scrap of paper later by her father not long before he passed away. Anderson is quoted as saying that, "I know that he would be so, so proud. I am thinking a lot about him right now. It's really lovely."
Historical marks
A number of milestones were met with this victory by the quadruple scull squad. This is the first time that Team GB has won a gold medal in the event. Said Scott, "It has been a long time in the making and I still can't quite believe it...I have just been trying to play it really cool."
This victory earned Team GB the 300th medal won by women at the Summer Games (Olympic and Paralympic).
It is possible to play it cool, as Scott suggests, but there's no need to tamp down excitement. Well done to the women of Team GB!
dark. Next. Mona McSharry gives Team Ireland its first Paris Olympic medal in a historic win. Mona McSharry gives Team Ireland its first Paris Olympic medal in a historic win