It was a historic day for rowing Saturday at the Paris Olympics as lightweight double sculls saw its Olympic curtain call run in spectacular fashion. Elsewhere, medals were decided in men's and women's pairs.

It was a battle of titans in the men’s pair final in Paris, with Croatian rowing legends Martin and Valent Sinkovic taking home the gold medal after overtaking the red-hot British duo of Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Thomas George in the final stint.

The Sinkovic brothers were the story coming into the Olympics, having only recently settled on competing in the pair competition after spending much of the run-up poised for a return to double sculls. They finished fourth in the first two pair races in 2024, with their best finishing coming in the form of a silver at World Cup III.

For the British, Wynne-Griffith and George were the favorites entering the tournament after a phenomenal 2024 season. They won both the 2024 European Rowing Championship and Rowing Cups I and II, entering the Games poised to unseat the Croatian team at the top of the sport.

Great Britain led a close field in the first 500m, taking a narrow one-second lead over Romania at the first marker. Places fourth through sixth were separated by just seven tenths of a second, with Ireland on pace for a bronze medal.

The Romanians closed the gap in the second stint, crossing the second marker just three tenths behind the British. The Irish lost their third-place status, dropping to fifth while Croatia moved on to the third step of the provisional podium. 

The British had an explosive third stint, pulling out a second on the Romanian duo to maintain their lead, while the Swiss boat overtook Croatia and held on to a four-tenth lead for third place.

But it was the defending Olympic champions from Croatia that took home the gold, surging past the British in the final 200m to take a nearly half second lead. The British duo, who caught a crab in the final stint, took home the silver, while Swiss pairing Roman Roosli and Andrin Gulich held off Belgium to take home the bronze. 

With the win, the Sinkovic brothers now each have four Olympic medals in four events, adding to their collection that includes a bronze in the quadruple sculls from London, a gold in double sculls from Rio, and a gold in pairs in Tokyo. With four medals, they hold the record together for the most Summer Olympics medals by a Croatian athlete.

RESULTS

Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester made history in Paris, winning the Netherlands' first ever Olympic gold medal in the women’s pair with a dominant win in the final race.

The Dutch pairing that finished as silver medalists as members of the women’s four in Tokyo have been phenomenal since switching to pairs, winning silver at the 2022 World Championships before taking the title in 2023. They entered Paris as the gold medal favorites after back-to-back wins in World Cups I and II in 2024.

The Dutch duo dominated in the first stint of the race, opening up an almost two and a half second lead at the first marker. Australians Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre crossed the first line as a distant second, while Lithuania followed eight tenths behind in third. Greece and Romania jockeyed for fourth, separated by just a quarter of a second, while the United States trailed in sixth place. 

The top three held consistent at the halfway marker, with Romanian duo Ioana Vrinceanu and Roxana Iuliana Anchel closing in on Lithuania after Greece dropped to the bottom of the standings. The Romanians surged in the third quarter, overtaking Lithuania for third place by just eight thousandths of a second.

It was all business for the Netherlands in the final stint, closing out the gold medal victory and finishing over four seconds ahead of second. It was a sensational race for silver, with the Romanians exploding in the final stint and overtaking Australia to win the silver medal, while Morrison and McIntyre finished with a bronze medal.

It was a momentous win for the Dutch in an event historically dominated by nations such as Romania, Great Britain and New Zealand. The Netherlands’ star pairing extends their win streak; they haven't lost a regatta since the 2023 World Championships. 

RESULTS

Ireland’s historic pairing of Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy continued their dominant streak in the men’s lightweight double sculls final, taking home another gold medal in a long succession of victories over the past few years.

It was an unlikely partnership for the Irish, as McCarthy had to beat out O’Donovan’s brother Gary for a spot on the boat back in 2019, ahead of the Tokyo Games. But it proved to be the right decision, as O’Donovan and McCarthy cruised to victory in 2021 to win Ireland’s first ever Olympic gold medal in rowing. The pair went on to win their third straight World Championship in 2023 in Belgrade. 

A brief trip-up in Ireland’s first international race of 2024, finishing third behind the Italian and Swiss team, opened the door for the Olympic competition. While the Irish entered Paris as definite medal contenders, the defending champions did not look as unbeatable as they once did.

Italy’s duo of Stefano Oppo and Gabriel Soares leapt out to a narrow lead in the first couple hundred meters, but it was Greece that hit the 500m marker in first place, just a quarter second ahead of their Mediterranean rivals. Ireland followed close behind in third, while Switzerland, Czechia and Norway trailed behind.

Ireland had a strong second stint, overtaking the Italians for second and trailing Greece’s Antonios Papakonstantinou and Petros Gkaidatzis by just nine thousandths of a second. The defending world and Olympic champions continued to surge in the third stint, moving into first place and hitting the 1500m marker with nearly a one second lead over Italy, who overtook Greece for second place.

The Irish would not be denied in the final stint, opening a lead of over a boat length to grab the gold medal with a lead over two seconds. Italy fought off the Greeks to take silver by a tenth of a second, while Greece finished with a bronze medal. It was a triumph for the Irish in the final lightweight men's double sculls, as the weight classes are set to be eliminated after the Pairs Olympics.

RESULTS

Great Britain cruised to victory in the women’s lightweight double sculls final, with gold medal favorites Imongen Grant and Emily Craig securing their spot as the top team in the world.

It was a redemption tour for the British duo, who finished just outside the podium in Tokyo, crossing the line in fourth place. Since then, Great Britain has looked indomitable in the races since, winning back-to-back world championships and going undefeated since the Tokyo Games. However, they faced stiff competition from Romania, which has a long history of excellence in this event.

Romania's Gianina Elena Van Groningen and Livia Cozmiuc Ionela characteristically exploded out of the gate, taking a sharp lead in the first three hundred meters. But the British duo responded, closing the gap and hitting the 500m marker just over one tenth of a second ahead of their Romanian rivals. Greece finished in third, nearly two seconds off the lead, while the United States dragged behind in last place.

Great Britain extended its lead in the second stint, holding an advantage of nearly a second over Romania at the race’s halfway mark. New Zealand also made strides, overtaking Greece for third place by nearly a second.

The places remain unchanged in the third stint, with New Zealand starting to put pressure on Romania for the silver medal spot. But it was the Greek team of Dimitra Eleni Kontou and Zoi Fitsiou who exploded in the final 500m, surging past New Zealand and into the bronze medal position. Great Britain cruised to another gold medal, while Romania held off the charging Greeks to bring home the silver.

The victory marks the second ever medal, and second gold, for Great Britain in this event. It was the fourth-ever medal in the event for the Romanians, but the first time they finished off the top step of the podium. It was a triumphant end to the event, as the lightweight double sculls class takes its final bow in Paris. 

RESULTS

• Daniel Williamson and Phillip Wilson of New Zealand took first in the men’s pair B final, followed by Lithuanian brothers Dovydas and Domantas Stankunas in second by under a second and a half. Americans William Bender and Oliver Bub finished third.
• Spain took first in the women’s pair B final, with Aina Cid and Esther Briz Zamorano finishing almost two seconds clear of the rest of the field. Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh from Ireland took second, while third place was decided by just one thousandth of a second, with Chile holding off a charging Czechia to finish in third.

• Host nation France took home first in the men’s final B, Hugo Beurey and Ferdinand Ludwig losing the lead early in the race to Spain before overtaking the Spanish in the final 50m. Spain finished in second, while a charging Belgium was held to third place.
• The women’s final B started off neck-and-neck with France, Canada and Poland separated by just one tenth of a second over the first half of the race.  Like their male counterparts, Laura Tarantola and Claire Bove of France mounted a late comeback, overtaking Canada in the final 100m for the win, with Canada fishing second, ahead of Poland in third.