New Zealand surprised by winning the Olympic figure eight final in the Sea Forest basin. The Kiwis were not qualified at the start of the season, and they had to go through the Lucerne qualifying regatta last May to secure their presence in Tokyo. They had gone all out, gathering most of their best rowers in this boat, starting with Hamish Bond, the two-time Olympic champion in the coxless pair (2012 and 2016 with Eric Murray), returned to his first love after a foray into cycling.
On board with the Germans (2nd at the finish) and the British (3rd), the New Zealanders made the effort in the third quarter of the race (1”31 ahead of the British in the 1500 m) to no longer be reached. This is the first Olympic success for the Kiwis in this event since 1972. A crew that has given rise to many legends, including the one (apocryphal) which wants the rowers and the coxswain to sawn their boat as new to each keep a part of it.
The surprise Stefanos Ntouskos in skiff
With the German Oliver Zeidler in the B final, the single scull gave rise to an even bigger surprise with the Greek Stefanos Ntouskos, slayer of the Norwegian Kjetil Borch, with a 1”21 lead. The 24-year-old Greek’s best result so far was a fourth place finish at the European Championships. He had gone through the continental qualifying regatta to get his ticket to the Tokyo Olympics. He thus brought his country his first Olympic title in rowing. The women’s single scull, on the other hand, returned much more classically to New Zealander Emma Twigg, 34 years old and 2014 world champion.
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