London 2012: Tom Solesbury into historic quadruple sculls final

Nick Wright
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
11:17 AM

Olympic rowing: 1. Croatia 2. Australia 3. Great Britain 4. New Zealand 5. Russia 6. Switzerland

Tom Solesbury’s name will go down in history after Team GB’s quadruple sculls crew became the first British quad ever to reach an Olympic final.

The Kent-born oarsman and his teammates took third place in the semi-final at a cloudy Eton Dorney, securing a coveted spot in Friday’s final.

The British crew made a solid start but crossed the 500metres mark in fourth, knowing they would have to push on for those all-important qualifying positions.

But with Croatia leading the way ahead of world champions Australia, Great Britain soon leapfrogged the fading Russians into third.

While the dominant Croatians accelerated into a comfortable lead, the British quad next set their sights on Australia in second.

And in a frantic finale the British crew came within inches of overhauling the Aussies.

The world champions held firm, but the Brit’s strong finish will still give them a huge confidence booster when they take to the water for the final.