Confidence sky-high for Hong Kong-raised Melanie Wilson and Great Britain in women’s eights
Rowing crew savour psychological advantage over rivals New Zealand in winning their heat to move straight into Saturday’s final, where the United States will be the team to beat
Hong Kong-raised Melanie Wilson and her Great Britain teammates are savouring a big psychological advantage over rivals New Zealand after cruising to victory in their heat and moving straight into the final of the women’s eights at the Rio Olympics.
The British and Kiwis had traded victories in recent races and both knew that anything but a win in their heat meant going through the hassle of a repêchage phase.
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Said Wilson: "We're thrilled with our race. Progressing straight to the final not only sends out a strong message that we're serious contenders, but means we can spend a few days adding some finishing touches to our race strategy.
"We felt the race went well, and although we were a bit slow out of the start, we were in a strong rhythm and there was a collective mentality throughout that we could win the race. The other two crews clearly threw everything at the front end of the race, and appeared to fade just as we picked up speed in the second half."