Southampton rower finishes second in men's eight heat (From Daily Echo)

Southampton rower finishes second in men's eight heat

11:08am Saturday 28th July 2012 in Sport

Great Britain’s men’s eight finished second in their heat behind three-times world champions Germany and will have to go through a repechage on Monday to reach Wednesday’s final.

But racing for the first time with their current crew – including Southampton ’s James Foad – Britain produced a confidence-boosting performance.

Germany seemed in control at the halfway mark but a powerful second 1,000 metres saw Britain close the gap to half a length.

The repechage will give Britain an extra race together. They should enter Wednesday’s final with podium potential and, following today’s performance, gold medal aspirations.

The race was five seconds faster than the first heat which was won by a resurgent United States crew, who had finished eighth at the World Championships and only qualified for the Olympics at the last opportunity.