Canadian women’s eight crew captures rowing gold; first in event since 1992

TOKYO — The Canadian women’s eight rowing crew has captured gold at the Tokyo Olympics. 

The eight rowers crossed the line first in Friday’s final in a time of five minutes 59.13 seconds at Sea Forest Waterway. It’s Canada’s first gold in the event since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

New Zealand grabbed silver (6:00.04), while China took bronze (6:01.21). 

Canada will leave the Tokyo Olympics with two rowing medals, after Victoria’s Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens of Surrey, B.C., took bronze in Thursday’s women’s pair. 

The double-podium performance comes after Canada secured just one medal — in the lightweight women’s double sculls — at the Rio Games five years ago. 

Canada made two other finals at the pandemic-delayed Games. 

Conlin McCabe of Brockville, Ont., and Kai Langerfeld of North Vancouver, B.C., just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the men’s pair, while Jessica Sevick of Strathmore, Alta., and Gabrielle Smith of Unionville, Ont., were sixth in women’s double sculls. 

Canada qualified 10 boats at a Games for the first time since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and fielded a gender-balanced crew for the first time. 

The Canadian Press