Team GB are heartbreakingly DENIED gold medal in males’s pair closing

Team GB were denied a gold medal in the last few strokes of the men’s coxless pair final on Friday morning. 

It was a valiant effort from Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Tom George, who pushed hard established a lead over Romania after the first 1000m.

However, Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic overtook them in the final 60 metres of the race after a relentless charge, leaving the Brits to settle for silver. 

With a time of 6:24:11, the British pair finished just 0.45s behind the iconic Croatian duo, who now have three Olympic golds and a silver between them. 

The Croatians had been fourth but they bulldozed the final 1000m to climb to first, pipping Team GB on the line, while Switzerland came in third. 

Great Britain’s Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George claimed silver in the men’s coxless pairs

The duo were pipped to first in a dramatic last 60 metres by a resurgent Croatian pairing

After a valiant race the duo had to settle for second place at an agonising 0.45s behind Croatia

Wynne-Griffith and George were part of the GB men’s eight crew that won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

They switched to the men’s pair after taking a year out to study at Cambridge and compete in the Boat Race.

Coming into the Games the pair were unbeaten in 2024, having won their first major title at the 2024 European Rowing Championships in April.

At the time of publication, Great Britain are sixth in the medal table with six golds, eight silvers and seven bronzes. 

After the race, an emotional Wynne-Griffith fought back the tears.

‘A great start. A great first 1950 metres I’d say. Just caught a digger in the last four strokes. That’s the difference between winning and losing unfortunately,’ he said.  

‘You do all those hours of training to get that right and we didn’t today. 

‘But I can’t fault the passion and grit and resolve that we’ve gone through as a pair and I’ve enjoyed the ride, every second of it.’

Brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic were overjoyed to claim a third gold medal between them 

The British pair looked gutted after having led at the half-way mark following a strong start

Martin Sinkovic consoled Tom George after Team GB lost their lead in the final few metres

Swizterland (right) came third as George and Wynne-Griffith claimed their best Olympic result

George added: ‘Obviously it’s tough. These things happen. A lot was made of us after the semi-final, came as favourites and whatever.

‘It’s not lost on us that at the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. That’s been the same for us all season.

‘Whenever we’ve won we’ve always reminded ourselves that we’re going to be hunted. We set out there to go really well and we did, but three strokes short. These things happen. Proud.’