(Paris) Canada, the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s eight with coxswain, won the silver medal in this discipline at the Paris Games on Saturday.
The Canadians finished the race with a time of 5:58.84 at the Stade nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne.
Romania took the gold medal with a time of 5:54.39.
Canada found itself in a tight battle with Great Britain for second place with 500 metres to go, but managed to hold off their opponents to take silver.
PHOTO EBRAHIM NOROOZI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Canadians hugged each other as they returned to the dock.
British Columbian Avalon Wasteneys said she knew the Canadians had to push hard until the finish.
“I knew they were close to us. I knew it was going to be a close race and I was digging as deep as I could to find every ounce of energy. I wanted to leave the race with no regrets,” she said.
Ontario’s Kristen Kit, the coxswain, said the Canadians didn’t have their best start and had to adjust their plan.
“I kind of made an executive decision to keep us on top and put us in the race. And we were in the race,” she said.
Honestly, I was really grateful that they trusted me to change race tactics on the fly.
Kristen Kit, coxswain of the Canadian eight
The Canadians are in Paris as the reigning gold medallists in the event, having won the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
However, Kit mentioned that the team slipped in the standings after those Games and “really struggled” to regain form.
“To achieve this in nine months is a dream come true,” insisted Kit, who announced she would retire after the Paris Games.
PHOTO EBRAHIM NOROOZI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
From left to right: Avalon Wasteneys, Caileigh Filmer, Jessica Sevick, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Abby Dent, Kristina Walker, Sydney Payne, Kristen Kit and Maya Meschkuleit paraded with their silver medals.
The team recalled four members from the Tokyo Games: Kit of St. Catharines, Ont., Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski of Calgary, Sydney Payne of Toronto and Wasteneys of Campbell River, B.C.
Five others — Abby Dent of Kenora, Ont., Caileigh Filmer of Victoria, Maya Meschkuleit of Mississauga, Ont., Jessica Sevick of Strathmore, Alta., and Kristina Walker of Wolfe Island, Ont. — joined the returning members of this year’s team.
The team qualified for Saturday’s final after finishing second in Thursday’s repechage.
Canada has won a medal in rowing at every Olympic Games since 1992.