- British rowers have taken home six medals in Paris
- Imogen Grant and Emily Craig moved on to take gold on Friday morning
- The pair painfully missed out on a podium spot in Tokyo by 0.01 seconds.
Imogen Grant and Emily Craig claimed gold for Team Great Britain in the women’s double sculls at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Friday morning.
The duo agonisingly finished fourth at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but fought back to claim another medal in rowing in Paris today.
The pair missed out on a podium place in Japan by a matter of 0.01 seconds, and Craig and Grant used the heartbreaking result to fuel their desire for a gold medal in the French capital.
Team GB’s rowers have been performing extremely well in Paris over the past few days, with Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgina Brayshaw sealing a sensational victory in the women’s quadruple sculls on Wednesday.
Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten also claimed silver in the women’s coxless four on Thursday, while Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde claimed bronze in the women’s pair earlier in the day.
Emily Craig and Imogen Grant won gold in the women’s double sculls on Friday morning at the 2024 Olympic Games
The pair painfully missed out on a podium spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by 0.01 seconds.
The pair produced a sensational performance to deliver Team GB’s sixth medal of the Games.
The GB rowing team’s medal tally now stands at two bronze, two silver and two gold medals in the men’s and women’s competitions, demonstrating the excellent start the British have made to the Games.
After banishing their ghosts from the Tokyo Games, a jubilant Grant and Craig raised their arms high in celebration of their victory before embracing each other on the pier.
Romania, which has won four rowing medals at the Games, came second, while Greece took the last spot on the podium.
The British pair’s victory came after Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Tom George claimed silver in the men’s doubles on Friday morning.
Craig had considered quitting rowing after the Tokyo Games, saying it had taken him some time to get back into the sport.
“Tokyo was going to be a fantastic fairytale because we would win a gold medal in the country whose art I love, but it turns out fairy tales don’t exist. However, in Paris there is so much art,” Craig told BBC Sport ahead of today’s race.
“I had to wait until February of the following year to be sure I wanted to come back and give it another chance,” she added.
“I think it was very important for both of us to go away and find value in ourselves outside of the sport and come back feeling refreshed and approach it with a new attitude.”
Meanwhile, Grant is set to begin his first job as a doctor in the coming days.
Grant, a doctor, will start her first job as a medic in the coming days, while Craig had considered quitting the sport after the Tokyo Games.
Romania, which has won four rowing medals at the Games, came second, while Greece took the final spot on the podium.
“As soon as the Olympics are over, I will begin my formative years at the Oxfordshire Deanery,” he told the BBC.
“It’s my first year of training… you do some internships in medical wards, in the community and also some surgical rotations. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little bit terrified, but ultimately it’s something I’ve been working towards for many years.”