Mahe Drysdale Wins Gold!

Mahe Drysdale has defended his Olympic rowing title by claiming gold for New Zealand in the men's single sculls.

Drysdale, a five-time world champion and victor at numerous global boutique events was third throughout the first 1000m before making his move over the third quarter of the race.

Leading the field through 1500m, Drysdale was pushed right to the line by European Champion Damir Martin of Croatia - only a photo finish separating the two scullers.

Drysdale's finishing time of 6:41.34 was an Olympic record.

Longtime rival Czech Ondrej Synek finished third, well off the pace.

Meanwhile, Emma Twigg finished out of the medals in the women's version of the event.

The 2014 World Champion was the last boat in the field after the first 500m and never fully recovered, finishing in fourth place.

Source: NZ Herald