Holland Eight rowers just fifth in Tokyo Olympic final

The boat was fifth from the start and in the 2 kilometer race the team could not improve on this position. Gold went to New Zealand in 5.24.64, silver to Germany (5.25.60) and bronze to Great Britain (5.25.73). The Netherlands crossed the finish line more than 3 seconds after the New Zealanders.

The Dutch eight included Bjorn van den Ende (bow), Ruben Knab, Jasper Tissen, Simon van Dorp, Maarten Hurkmans, Bram Schwarz, Mechiel Versluis and Robert Lücken (AVC). Eline Berger was the coxswain.

Fifth place was a disappointment for head coach Mark Emke’s boat. In the heats, the Holland Eight made their mark and convincingly qualified for the final battle. But from the start the boat was lagging behind and at the halfway point there was still no visible improvement. There was also no final blow.

In recent years, the eight have always won a medal in a major tournament. At the 2019 World Cup there was silver and at this year’s European Championships and 2020 there was bronze.

The Holland Eight rowed for the bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Games. Versluis and Lücken were also in the boat at the time. At the 1996 Atlanta Games 25 years ago, the Holland Eight rowed for gold.