Rowing:Britain made history at Eton Dorney on Saturday with two more gold medals and a silver on the final day of competition to confirm their status as the world's leading rowing nation.
Andrew Triggs Hodge, Pete Reed, Tom James and Alex Gregory beat arch-rivals Australia in sensational fashion to win Britain’s fourth consecutive Olympic title in the coxless fours.
Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland, who only came together in a lightweight double scull three months ago, then produced a stunning performance to win Britain’s fourth rowing gold.
Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase won silver but lost their Olympic title in the men’s lightweight double sculls to Denmark and were still inconsolable hours after a race of high drama.
The final had to be stopped when Purchase broke his seat and on the restart it appeared as if Britain would claim another gold, until the Danes snatched victory with a late surge to the line.
France then protested at the result, hoping in vain to get Britain disqualified over the stoppage but Britain’s silver was confirmed when governing body Fisa dismissed the appeal.
With four golds and an incredible nine medals in total from an unprecedented 13 finalists London 2012 was Britain’s most successful Olympic regatta ever.
The previous best performance had been at the London Olympics of 1908, when Britain entered more than one crew in some classes and won eight medals, including four golds.