Britain win Olympics rowing thriller as Dutch top table
The Dutch ended with four golds, one clear of traditional powerhouse Britain, who came back strongly after failing to win a single event at the Tokyo Games.
The final of the men's eight was a tight battle between two-time reigning world champions Britain and the Netherlands.
The teams swapped the lead in the early stages and the boats were neck-and-neck at the 1,000m half-way stage.
But the British crew, who won bronze in Tokyo, stepped up a gear over the next 500m, stamping their authority on the race.
Britain crossed the line in 5min 22.88sec, with the Dutch just over a second behind, taking back the gold they last won at Rio in 2016. The USA took bronze.
"I sat in the same seat in the eight in Tokyo," said gold medallist Charles Elwes.
"It was bitter-sweet coming out of that regatta. There were a lot of demons that were expelled during that race."
Tom Digby, who was not part of the crew in Tokyo in 2021, said there was a "new fire" among Britain's rowers after the crushing disappointment in Japan.
"The new energy of the guys coming in and the energy of the guys who had a point to prove from the results from last time," he said.
"We've had the passion since day one and also we've had the experience and the belief in the whole project, the whole Olympiad, so the combination of that, the energy from the defeat and the energy from missing out just drove us through the three years."
Britain and the Netherlands both finished with eight rowing medals at Vaires-sur-Marne but the Dutch topped the table by virtue of winning one more gold.
Dutch men's eight silver medallist Gert-Jan van Doorn praised the backroom staff for giving the team the platform to shine.
"Obviously we're the ones doing the training, doing the rowing, but without our upper management, without our technical director, without our head coach, without our coaches, it wouldn't be possible," he said.
Romania glory
Romania dominated the women's eight final to win their first gold in the event since the 2004 Athens Games.
The champions trailed Canada at the 500m mark but then upped the pace and pulled away, winning by nearly 4.5 seconds in a time of 5:54.39.
Reigning champions Canada took silver and Britain won bronze.
Heading into Paris, Romania were the most decorated nation in the women's eight, boasting nine Olympic medals, three more than any other country.
Simona Radis and Ancuta Bodnar added gold medals to their silvers in the double sculls earlier this week.
Dutch rower Karolien Florijn dethroned reigning champion Emma Twigg from New Zealand in the women's single sculls to add to her family's remarkable collection of Olympic gold medals.
Her brother Finn won gold in quadruple sculls earlier this week while their father Ronald is a two-time Olympic champion –- at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Germany's Oliver Zeidler took gold in the men's single sculls in the delayed final race of the regatta.