Britain win fours in final thriller

Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:56am BST

BEIJING - Britain won the men's Olympic fours on Saturday after storming from behind to finish just ahead of the Australians in a thrilling final race on Lake Shunyi on Saturday.

Tom James, Steve Williams, Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs-Hodge were behind the Australians for the first 1,900 metres of the race before coming through just before the finish line to maintain the country's dominance of the event.

Britain won the fours in Athens, where they required a photo finish to decide the winner, and Sydney.

Australia slumped over their oars after crossing the line while the British pumped the air with delight. France finished third, some three seconds off the winners.

Britain had entered the regatta as a slightly unknown quantity after a disjointed season marred by injury. But they had won their semi-final over Australia and looked strong all week in Beijing.

Britain's Williams was the only rower from the Athens four to compete in the Beijing Olympics boat.

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Source: Agencies