Romania’s Elisabeta Lipa defied the passing of years and the cares of motherhood to row into Olympic history with a women’s eights gold medal yesterday.
As she crossed the finish line at the Schinias lake, the 39-year-old consolidated her achievement as the most medaled Olympic rower of all time — now with eight in total -- and also became the first woman to win five golds in the sport.
The United States ended a 40-year gold medal drought in the men’s eights and Romania’s Lipa quit the sport as the most decorated Olympian in rowing history after helping Romania win the women’s eights on yesterday.
Germany, meanwhile, stretched their golden quadruple sculls run to nine Olympics in the conclusion of the rowing events in Athens.
Tomasz Kucharski and Robert Sycz of Poland defended their lightweight double sculls gold medal from the 2000 Games in Sydney, and so did Romania’s Constanta Burcica and Angela Alupei in the women’s edition of the race.
Jason Read, Allen Wyatt, Chris Ahrens, Joseph Hansen, Matt Deakin, Dan Beery, Beau Hoopman, Bryan Volpenhein and cox Pete Cipollone gave the US their first gold since the 1964 Games in Tokyo.
Coming off a morale-boosting win at the famed Lucerne race in Switzerland in the run-up to the Games, Volpenheim and his men took an early lead and never looked back en route to victory in 5 minutes 42.48 seconds as the Netherlands got silver and Australia bronze.
“It’s the first gold medal for the US in 40 years. We are excited, it is amazing,” said Read.
Lipa, meanwhile, helped Romania to their third straight gold in the women’s eights in her final career race, with the US on silver and the Dutch on bronze.
The 39-year-old raised her personal gold medal tally to five as she also has a single sculls gold from 1992 and one in the double sculls in her Olympic debut 20 years ago in 1984. With an additional two silver and one bronze she is now the most decorated rower at Olympics, surpassing Briton Sir Steven Redgrave, who has five golds and one bronze.
“This was my last race. I am very happy to have won five (gold) medals in six Olympics. I dedicate this gold to myself,” said Lipa.
Earlier, the German women dominated the quadruple sculls with the same team as in 2000, Kathrin Boron, Meike Evers, Manuela Lutze and Kerstin El Qalqili.
They continued the German women’s quadruple sculls winning run which started 1976 in Montreal, with Boron even earning her fourth straight gold as she was also on the victorious 1992 and 1996 squads.
“It added to the pressure that we are unbeaten since 1976. But I said in the beginning that anything other than gold will be a disappointment. If you have three golds you want a fourth one,” said the 34-year-old Boron.
Russia won their first ever men’s quadruple sculls gold from Sergei Fedorovtsev, Igor Kravtsov, Aleksei Svirin and Nikolai Spinev.
Demark won the men’s lightweight coxless fours like in 1996, from Thor Kristensen, Thomas Ebert, Stephan Moelvig and Eskild Ebbesen, with only Ebbesen on the team eight years ago as well. The gap of 20 years between Lipa’s first double sculls success at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was also the greatest gap between golds ever achieved by any female rower.
“Mighty Mothers” crewmate Doina Ignat, 35, dedicated hers to her baby daughter after Lipa had dedicated her medal to herself.
A year ago, Lipa put raising her six-year-old son and an office job with the police force on hold to come out of retirement for the third time. She persuaded other retired colleagues — among them Ignat who now has four golds and one silver as well as that baby girl to think about — to take up their blades again for what must surely be one last shot at gold.
“It’s my third comeback and this time was so difficult,” Lipa said yesterday. “This was the most difficult. Now I am going to rest.”
