Coxless Pairs, Women

Canadian Emma Robinson had won the coxless pairs event at the last three editions of the World Championships, most recently with Theresa Luke, and together they were favored to take the title at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Also in contention was Australia who, represented in part by Kate Slatter, had been the 1995 World and 1996 Olympic champion. In 1999 she had been World bronze medalist with Rachael Taylor, with whom she partnered in Sydney. The fastest time in the opening heat, however, went to Doina Ignat and Georgeta Damian of Romania, while the other one was taken by South Africa’s Helen Fleming and Colleen Orsmond, despite the presence of both Australia and Canada. Ignat was a 1996 Olympic champion in the coxed eights, while Damian was a 1997 World runner-up in the coxless pairs. In the final, the Romanians won a comfortable distance ahead of the Australians, who had to battle the American duo of Missy Schwen and Karen Kraft to capture silver, which they did by a mere 0.04 seconds. This left the Americans with bronze, as the Canadians struggled and did not arrive at the finish until almost three seconds after the United States. Ignat and Damian, meanwhile, were double Olympic champions at the Games, as they also took home gold from the coxed eights.