Silver medal for men's eight
Great Britain's men's eight took the silver medal on the final day of the rowing regatta.
Last Updated: 17/08/08 11:37am
Great Britain's men's eight took the silver medal on the final day of the rowing regatta, but there was disappointment for the women's eight who finished fifth in their final.
Canada claimed the gold medal in the men's race, becoming the first world champion crew to follow up with the Olympic gold in 35 years.
The Canadian crew came home in 5 minutes 23.89 seconds, beating the British team of Alex Partridge, Tom Stallard, Tom Lucy, Richard Egington, Josh West, Alastair Heathcote, Matt Langridge, Colin Smith and coxswain Acer Nethercott by 1.22 seconds.
The United States, who won gold at the Athens Games, were edged into the bronze medal position.
The women's eight were dealt a significant blow on the morning of the final after Natasha Howard and Alison Knowles both pulled out of the race due to illness.
The unwell pair were replaced in the crew by official reserve Alice Freeman and Louisa Reeve, who raced in the women's pair final on Saturday.
Both are experienced in the eight, having been members of the crew last year, but the late disruption to the boat's engine room was still considerable.
The United States claimed gold with Holland second and Romania third, with Britain back in fifth place.
