Day 9 roundup: What the Canadians did
Last Updated: Sunday, August 17, 2008 | 12:56 PM ET
CBC Sports
Canada won the gold medal in the men's eight rowing final at the Beijing 2008 Olympics on Sunday. (Danny Moloshok/Associated PressCanada is making up for lost time at the Beijing Games.
After failing to win a medal through the first seven days of competition, Canada finally ended its drought with three medals on Day 8, and more medals followed Sunday, with Canadian athletes reaching the medal podium another four times.
With seven medals, Canada ranks 17th in the overall standings.
The men's eight rowing team finished the job they started four years ago by winning gold, leading wire-to-wire in the final race at Beijing's Shunyi Olympic rowing park.
Canada finished in a time of five minutes, 23.89 seconds.
"We never stopped, we just kept on pushing, every stroke," said coxswain Brian Price.
The reigning world champions were seeking redemption for their crushing defeat in Athens in 2004, when they entered as medal favourites and finished fifth.
"In Athens, it was a very hard fought race. It was one where we were behind, and we had to fight back. Here we dominated, and that is such a testament to what a great crew this was," said Jake Wetzel.
Canada's first medal of the day came from Ryan Cochrane, who claimed the bronze in the 1,500-metre freestyle.
The 19-year-old from Victoria finished third in a time of 14 minutes 42.69 seconds to win Canada's first Olympic swimming medal since 2000.
Fourth-place finisher Yuriy Prilukov mounted a furious campaign for the bronze over the final few laps. But the Russian was held off at the end by Cochrane, who had battled Hackett for first place for much of the race.
"I knew that [Prilukov] could catch me because he did in the 400 [freestyle]," Cochrane told CBC Sports. "I knew I just had to give my all."
The Canadian lightweight men's four won Canada's second bronze medal of the day.
The crew of Iain Brambell, Jon Beare, Mike Lewis and Liam Parsons finished in five minutes, 50.09 seconds at Shunyi Olympic rowing park.
Canada used a late surge to grab a medal, and almost moved into second place in the final leg.
"We started [with] everything we could in the first 500 to get ourselves into the race. Essentially, through the middle, it's a dogfight and everybody wants a piece of it," said Brambell. "We knew that we had a really solid 500 and it was just a matter of not waiting for it but going, everyone together. We closed our eyes and went for it."
Canadian women's lightweight double sculls rowing pair Melanie Kok and Tracy Cameron clinched Canada's third bronze medal in a photo finish at Shunyi Olympic rowing park.
Kok and Cameron finished in six minutes, 56.68 seconds, behind Kirsten van der Kolk and Marit van Eupen of the Netherlands, who won the gold, and Sanna Sten and Minna Niemenen of Finland, who took silver.
The race came to such a close finish that the result was in doubt for several seconds before the Canadians realized they had beaten the Germans by 0.04 seconds.
"We had to find a little something extra to get beyond them," Cameron told the CBC. "Just close your eyes and go."
"Our goal was to have a really solid first 1,500. In our previous races we've gotten caught a few times. We really wanted to put together a solid last 500," Kok said.
In other notable Canadian results:
- Vancouver's Blythe Hartley finished fourth in the final of the women's three-metre springboard diving event.
- In field hockey, Ken Pereira scored for Canada in a 1-1 tie against Great Britain.
- In women's eight rowing, Canada (Heather Mandoli, Kelowna, B.C.; Andreanne Morin, Montreal; Sarah Bonikowsky, Orangeville, Ont.; Ashley Brzozowicz, Toronto; Romina Stefancic, Victoria; Buffy Williams, St. Catharines, Ont.; Darcy Marquardt, Richmond, B.C.; Jane Rumball, Fredericton; and Lesley Thompson-Willie, London, Ont.) finished fourth with a time of 6:08.04, missing the bronze medal by 0.79 seconds.
- In softball, Canada managed three hits in a 4-0 loss to Australia.
- In women's freestyle wrestling, Martine Dugrenier of Montreal lost to American Randi Miller in the bronze medal final of the under-63 kg class.
- In the under-72 kg class, Ohenewa Akuffo of Brampton, Ont., lost in the repechage semifinals to Maider Unda of Spain.
- In the individual equestrian, Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, Ont., and his mount Hickstead are tied for first place following the second qualifier; Ian Millar, Perth, Ont., (In Style) is tied for 16th; Malcolm Cone, King City, Ont., (Ole), tied for 30th; and Jill Henselwood, Oxford Mills, Ont., (Special Ed), 44th.
- In the team competition, Cone, Henselwood, Lamaze and Millar, are tied for fourth following the first round with a score of 16.
- In the men's 1,500 metres, both Canadians failed to advance after finishing ninth in their respective semifinal heats. Nathan Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., posted a time of three minutes 39.10 seconds, while Kevin Sullivan, Brantford, Ont., finished in 3:40.30.
- In the men's 10,000-metre race, Eric Gillis of Antigonish, N.S., placed 33rd (29:08.10).
- In the men's hammer throw, James Steacy of Lethbridge, Alta., placed 12th in the event with a best-distance of 75.72 metres.
- In the men's high jump, Mike Mason of Nanoose Bay, B.C., finished in a tie for 19th in qualifying at 2.25 metres and did not advance.
