First gold for NZ! Rowers Prendergast and Gowler triumph in Tokyo

By MiNDFOOD

New Zealand’s unstoppable crew triumphed in the women’s pair event as Olympic rowing continued on Thursday at Tokyo’s blustery Sea Forest Waterway.

After clinching their Wednesday semi-final in a world-best time, Kiwis Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler again dazzled, overcoming a slow start and taking the lead shortly after the midway point to win in 6:50.19.

The Russian Olympic Committee team and Canada took silver and bronze respectively.

Speaking to Sky Sport following the race, Gowler thanked the pair’s supporters.

“Thanks for all the support, it’s been such a long campaign … five years, and I’m gutted everyone can’t be here with us. But we hope we have made you proud,” she said.

“We crossed and I was like ‘was someone ahead of us?’ I was just so focussed on us so I was like ‘did we do it?’. Honestly, I can’t believe it.”

Tokyo Bay again dished out windy conditions and the heat continued to punish competitors, with temperatures hovering near 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) Thursday morning, as the sun broke through early cloud cover.

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