|  | Women's Double Sculls (W2X)2000 Olympic Games  Pre-Olympic SummaryAugust 13, 2000 -- The defending 1999 World Champions from Germany,
    Thieme and Boron, are clear favorites for the gold in Sydney. They have placed 1st twice
    in their World Cup racing in Munich and Lucerne and are on a roll. Lithuania (4th at 1999
    Worlds, with a 5th and two 2nd place finishes at the World Cup), and a new combination
    from the United States with two 3rd place World Cup finishes, could give Germany some
    anxiety. China placed 2nd last year at Worlds, but not well in World Cup. The Netherlands,
    3rd last year at Worlds, finished 4th at the Lucerne World Cup. Romania was 2nd in the
    first leg of the World Cup at Munich, losing to Germany, but then tailed off to a 5th
    place finish in Vienna. Still, with Lipa and Cochela of Romania being the most experienced
    scullers in this event, Romania could also pose some problems for Germany and the other
    medal contenders. World and Olympic Championship Histories
      
        | Nation | 2000
        Place | 1999
        Place | '99
        Rowers in '00 Boat | Avg.
        Place in Prev Events | #
        Prev Events | Total
        medals | Gold
        medals | Silver
        medals | Bronze
        medals |  
        | GER | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.8 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 |  
        | CHN | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | - |  
        | NED | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3.3 | 12 | 7 | - | 3 | 4 |  
        | LTU | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9.2 | 14 | - | - | - | - |  
        | FRA | 8 | 5 | 1 | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | - | - | 1 |  
        | AUS | 6 | 6 | 2 | 6.2 | 13 | 2 | - | - | 2 |  
        | GBR | 9 | 7 | 0 | 7.5 | 2 | - | - | - | - |  
        | SUI | 7 | 8 | 2 | 8.2 | 8 | - | - | - | - |  
        | ROM | 5 | 10 | 0 | 3.2 | 35 | 24 | 7 | 13 | 4 |  
        | USA | 4 | 11 | 0 | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 1 |  
        | MEX | 11 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
        | Total |  |  |  |  | 122 | 54 | 22 | 19 | 13 |  To see detailed Olympic and World Championship histories for the rowers in any of these
    crews, click on that crew's abbreviation. |  |