Rigney, Eights, Close Out Olympic Regatta

A courageous Tara Rigney has missed the medals by the barest of margins in the Women’s Single Sculls as the Olympic regatta wrapped up at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Tara was in the bronze medal position for most of the race but was pipped right on the line by the Lithuanian boat of Viktorija Senkute, with the margin just 0.53 seconds after a gruelling 2000m row.

The 25-year-old, a two-time bronze medal winner at the World Championships, showed plenty of emotions after the race, which was won by world champion Karolien Florijn following an epic battle with the defending Olympic champion Emma Twigg from New Zealand.

“At the end of the day, I executed my race plan but didn’t quite have those last 10 strokes in me,” Tara said.

“I left no stone unturned and it’s the best I could have done today. Hats off to the rest of the scullers, they put out an amazing race and my best just wasn’t good enough.”

“That’s sport, that’s why it’s good and that’s why it’s tough. The highs are high and the lows are low. There’s nothing quite like the feeling when someone is gaining on you and you’re putting everything out there and it’s just not quick enough.”

Tara had family, friends and fans in Paris, some with cut-out photos of her face, urging on her every stroke. She is grateful for their support and never took it for granted.

“It’s always devastating but I’m incredibly lucky to be surrounded by amazing family and friends,” she said.

“You can get as many Olympic finals or medals as you want but finding great people to surround yourself with is even harder. I definitely want to go again (to LA 2028).”

The Rowsellas Women’s Eight recorded their best ever finish at an Olympic Games, charging home for fourth, with crew-member Georgie Rowe saying they produced one of their best races of 2024.

“We put it all out there. You’ve got to be happy with that, I think that was one of the best races we’ve executed all season,” Georgie said.

 “I’m proud of the girls, our coaches and our team.

“We had a great last 500m. We all knew what our plan was and had the blinders on and went for it. Maybe we should have gone a little bit earlier but that’s racing.”

The Men’s Eight overcame a late setback when Josh Hicks was forced to withdraw from the boat with a stomach bug. He was replaced by Tim Masters, who had rowed in the Four earlier in the regatta.

They finished sixth in their final, which was won by the crew from Great Britain, who have been the outstanding boat in the class over recent years. 

Angus Dawson, who rows in the seven seat, said they had every confidence in Tim once he was named as the next man up.

“I thought the crew dealt with it really well, with Tim coming in. He knows the rhythm of the Eight, having been in there in previous years, and we were still confident we could get it done,” Angus said.

“It’s just such minute details… if it’s not quite there, you are pretty far off. I still thought we were in with a good chance but at the end of the day it’s not quite there.”

Article courtesy of the AOC