First China rowing win denies GB

China won the women's quadruple sculls to claim the country's first Olympic rowing gold and deny Great Britain.

GB were themselves bidding for a first women's rowing gold, but stroke Katherine Grainger had to settle for her third successive Olympic silver.

Grainger, Annie Vernon, Debbie Flood and Frances Houghton led by a second at half-way but could not hold on.

Germany's Kathrin Boron, 38, was denied her fifth Olympic gold medal as her crew came in third.

China's Tang Bin, Jin Ziwei, Xi Aihua and Zhang Yangyang were roared on by the home crowd and blew kisses to the fans as they secured victory.

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"In the Olympics you have to keep struggling, there is no rule that says who should win," Jin said.

Great Britain won silver in the women's quad in the last two Olympic regattas.

But they had their hearts set on gold after winning the last three World Championships and the crew were all clearly devastated afterwards.

Houghton, second in the quad in 2004, said: "We're just so disappointed. We really believed we could do it and we haven't."

Grainger told BBC Sport: "I believe if we did it again we could do it. I want to go back to the start and try again.

"We let it slip away at the end. It was 100% from everyone but we didn't quite get it right.

"We could feel them charge. We were charging too. I always believed our power at the end would be better than anyone else."

Olympic debutante Vernon added: "We're so disappointed. I feel so empty."

Shortly after the race in Shunyi Rebecca Romero, who took silver with Houghton and Flood in Athens, clinched gold in track cycling's individual pursuit.

"I got told just before I went out for my race - I'm absolutely gutted for them," she told BBC Sport.

"They really deserved to win, I'm gutted for all of them."

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Beijing 2008 - rowing
Amateur Rowing Association
World Rowing
Olympic schedule from the BOA
Rowing from the BOA
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