Team Canada came away with a silver medal in women’s eights rowing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Saturday. The Canadian team was comprised of Abigail Dent of Kenora, Ontario, Caileigh Filmer of Victoria, British Columbia, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski of Montreal, Quebec, Maya Meschkuleit and Jessica Sevick of Vancouver, British Columbia, Sydney Payne and Avalon Wasteneys of Toronto, Ontario, Kristina Walker of Coquitlam, British Columbia, and coxswain Kristen Kit of St. Catharines, Ontario.
In the women’s eights final, Canada posted a time of 5:58.84. Romania won the gold medal with a time of 5:54.39. Great Britain won the bronze medal with a time of 5:59.51. Canada reached the podium by 1.89 seconds over Australia, which had a fourth place time of 6:00.73.
It was not a clear path for Canada to reach the A Final in women’s eights rowing. They only finished in third place in the first heat (behind Great Britain and Australia), and needed to finish in the top four in the Repechage to qualify for the final. Canada did just that by placing second only behind the United States.
This is the sixth time in Olympic history Canada has medalled in the women’s eights. They won gold at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, silver at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, bronze at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, silver at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
