British women edge Dutch to win gold in quadruple sculls drama

Britain pulled off a stunning victory with the last stroke of their oars to win Olympic gold in the women's quadruple sculls final at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Wednesday, beating Netherlands in a thrilling finale.

Minutes after their men had won gold in their final, the Dutch looked set to add a second but after a titanic struggle the British foursome pulled themselves across the line with one last big effort to win by 0.15 seconds, with Germany third.

The Netherlands crew appeared to have comfortably dealt with the British challenge from the midway point of the race, but Britain's crew somehow found the energy to mount a last desperate challenge to stun the Dutch at the finish line.

Reigning men's champions Netherlands successfully defended their Olympic title in the quadruple sculls with a tremendous display of power and control that won them the gold medal, with Italy second and Poland third.

The Dutch men’s crew took an early lead in their final but were quickly reined in by the rest of the field before edging in front again with the Italian, Polish and British crews close behind.

The Dutch rowed smoothly to open up a lead of just over half a length that they never relinquished and they won with a time of 5:42, 2.4 seconds ahead of Italy.

The Italians had engaged in a mid-race battle with the British, emerging victorious and then passing the Poles to grab second spot by a margin of 0.19 seconds, with the British crew finishing an agonising fourth.