Single Sculls, Women

Miroslava Knapková of the Czech Republic was the defending Olympic Champion in the Women’s Single Sculls and had been dominant at the European Championships, winning in 2013, 2014, and 2015. She had been less successful at the World Championships, however, earning bronze in 2013 and silver in 2015. Her main competitor here was Australian Kim Brennan, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and 2013 and 2015 World Champion. At the Worlds over the last three years, Brennan had been bested only by New Zealand’s Emma Twigg in 2014; Twigg was also the World silver medalist in 2013, bronze medalist in 2010 and 2011, and had come in fourth in London. The only other Rio competitor to medal at the World Championships was China’s Duan Jingli, who had taken bronze in 2014 and 2015, while the 2016 European Champion was Magdalena Lobnig of Austria.

Jungli, Lobnig, and Twigg all won their preliminary heats, while Knapková came second in Lobnig’s heat and Brennan came in third behind Kenia Lechuga of Mexico and 2013 and 2014 African Champion Micheen Thornycroft of Zimbabwe. Twigg, Knapková, and Lechuga advanced in the first quarterfinal and Brennan and Duan in the fourth, with Thornycroft finishing behind 2012 Olympic silver medalist Fie Udby Erichsen of Denmark in quarterfinal three. The second quarterfinal was perhaps the most interesting, as it was won by American Gevvie Stone, not considered a serious medal contender, with Lobnig coming in third behind Jeanine Gmelin of Switzerland, the 2015 European silver medalist.

Four of these competitors were eliminated in the semifinals: Thornycroft, Lechuga, Erichsen and, most surprisingly, Knapková, who was beaten by Duan, Stone, and Lobnig. This left Brennan in the best position to capture gold, which she did leading almost the entire race. Stone was the only other rower close to Brennan by the end and thus earned silver, with Duan edging out Twigg by 0.35 seconds to round out the podium. The event marked the first foray into Olympic rowing for the Bahamas, Singapore, Nigeria, Togo, and Trinidad and Tobago, thanks to the participation of Emily Morley, Saiyidah Aisyah, Chierika Ukogu, Akossiwa Claire Ayivon, and Felice Chow respectively. Michelle Pearson, meanwhile, was Bermuda’s first Olympic rower since 1972.