Rowing: Croatia's Sinkovic brothers win third straight Olympic gold

Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic won Olympic gold for the third straight Games on Friday to enter the pantheon of the sport's greats.

AFP , Friday 2 Aug 2024,

Croatia's gold medallists Martin Sinkovic (R) and Valent Sinkovic celebrate on the podium during
Croatia's gold medallists Martin Sinkovic (R) and Valent Sinkovic celebrate on the podium during the medal ceremony after the men's pair final rowing competition at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Centre in Vaires-sur-Marne during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on August 2, 2024. AFP

 

They edged out British pair Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Tom George in the men's pair, with just 0.45 seconds separating the two boats on the Vaires-sur-Marne course after the Britons had led from the start.

At the 2012 London Olympics, the brothers won the silver medal in the quadruple sculls before finding their golden touch -- first in the double sculls in Rio in 2016 and five years later in the men's pair in Tokyo.

After adding the third gold, Valent, 36, said: "Three different gold medals all with different stories. Rio was the first one and special because it's the first one.

"Tokyo was first in a different discipline, and this one is even more special because of the tough year we had. Nothing went our way. We couldn't find ourselves.

"And then, the cherry on top, midway through the race we thought we couldn't get the medal, and then we found our rhythm, we found togetherness, and to get first."

Aside from their four Olympic medals the brothers they have won six world championship golds and seven European titles.

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