| Good promoters always leave the best for last, and this is the case here where Steve
Redgrave of GBR will try to set Olympic history by winning his fifth consecutive gold
medal in 5 straight Olympic Games going back to 1984. Just as the World of rowing is
solidly behind Steve in this quest, there are a number of crews out on the Penrith course
that are just as determined to get gold for themselves. Except for a 4th place finish in
the July Lucerne World Cup, this boat has won every race it has entered since Steve and
Matt Pinsent moved to the 4- in 1997. They have clearly recovered from the Lucerne
disappointment, and are ready to close Steve's career with a 5th gold. However, if the
semi-finals times of these crews are repeated, there may be a problem for GBR, and that
problem is AUS and ITA. ITA and AUS both beat GBR in Lucerne. The prediction race bulletin
printed below with a mix of semi-finals times shows GBR establishing a good lead in the
first 500, but it begins to erode in the second 500. Look at the JAMCO Pre-play for this race and notice how ITA and AUS both
turn gold in the second 500, as they start to close on GBR. ITA gets by in the 3rd 500 and
leads GBR slightly with 500 to go. AUS then passes both GBR and ITA to win, and GBR goes
back through ITA to win the silver medal. So, there is still a race to be run and won, and
there is no indication the winner will have it easy.
LANE CREW RELATIVE POSITIONS ELAPSED SPLIT
1500* CREW TIME TIME
---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 NZL <NZL GBR 1:27.08 1:27.08
5 ITA <ITA ITA 1:28.00 1:28.00
4 AUS <AUS AUS 1:28.25 1:28.25
3 GBR <GBR USA 1:28.52 1:28.52
2 SLO <SLO SLO 1:28.75 1:28.75
1 USA <USA NZL 1:29.43 1:29.43
---+---+---+---+---+---+
1000*
---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 NZL <NZL GBR 2:59.54 1:32.46
5 ITA <ITA ITA 3:00.00 1:32.00
4 AUS <AUS AUS 3:00.61 1:32.36
3 GBR <GBR SLO 3:02.05 1:33.30
2 SLO <SLO USA 3:02.30 1:33.77
1 USA <USA NZL 3:02.44 1:33.01
---+---+---+---+---+---+
500 *
---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 NZL <NZL ITA 4:31.39 1:31.39
5 ITA <ITA GBR 4:31.60 1:32.06
4 AUS <AUS AUS 4:31.91 1:31.29
3 GBR <GBR SLO 4:33.52 1:31.47
2 SLO <SLO NZL 4:33.69 1:31.24
1 USA <USA USA 4:33.73 1:31.43
---+---+---+---+---+---+
FINISH*
---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 NZL <NZL AUS 6:02.02 1:30.11
5 ITA <ITA GBR 6:02.27 1:30.67
4 AUS <AUS ITA 6:02.30 1:30.91
3 GBR <GBR SLO 6:04.07 1:30.54
2 SLO <SLO NZL 6:05.32 1:31.63
1 USA <USA USA 6:05.79 1:32.06
---+---+---+---+---+---+
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