Disappointing Finish for WA Rowers
It was a disappointing weekend in Beijing for Australian rowers. After battling through the repechage rounds to make the finals, both the men’s and women’s eights and the women’s quadruple sculls finished last in their respective finals.
WAIS athlete Amber Bradley took to the water in the women’s quadruple sculls final, who finished in a time of 6:30.05, putting them in 6th place behind the USA.
The men’s eight team, which included WAIS athletes Jeremy Stevenson and David Dennis, were deemed a strong medal chance, but by the half-way point they looked to be out of contention. The team finished the six-boat race with a time of 5.35.10.
The race was especially disappointing to team member James Tomkins, as he comes to the end of his twenty-year Olympic career. Speaking to Fox Sports, Tomkins commented that he doesn’t know what happened.
“I don’t think we could have done anything better to prepare. I was feeling fantastic and I was so ready to go and I think the other guys were.”
Minutes earlier the women’s eight had suffered the same fate, crossing the line in 6th place with a disappointing end to their Olympic campaign. The team, which included WAIS athletes Natalie Bale and fellow West Australian and team captain Sarah Tait, clocked a time of 6.14.22.