Natalie Mastracci (back, fourth from left) and Team Canada on the medal stand
Mastracci wins silver with Canada W8+
8/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
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ETON DORNEY, England - Natalie Mastracci became the first former Syracuse student-athlete to win a medal at the 2012 London Olympics, winning silver with the Canada women's eight at the Eton Dorney rowing facility on Thursday.
Canada finished second to the U.S. eight, which won gold for the second straight Olympics, and the Netherlands took bronze.
Before a raucous crowd of 30,000, the Canadians finished in a time of 6:12.06, 1.47 seconds behind the U.S. (6:10.59) and 1.06 seconds in front of the Dutch.
Mastracci and the Canadians grabbed the second-place position early on as the U.S. built a sizeable lead on the field through the first 1,500 meters, but Team Canada put on a late charge in the sprint, gaining seats on the Americans in the final 200 meters and holding off the Dutch.
After a fourth-place finish in Beijing in 2008, Canada's W8+ had become the major threat to the Americans, finishing second by .74 seconds at last year's World Championship and by just .03 seconds at a World Cup race in Lucerne, Switzerland in May. Canada then posted the top time in the Olympic heats (6:13.91 to 6:14.68), setting up Thursday's two-boat showdown.
It marks the third straight Olympic Games in which a former Syracuse rower has medaled. Anna Goodale won gold with the U.S. team and Helen Tanger took silver for the Netherlands in 2008, while Tanger and Froukje Wegman won bronze with the Dutch squad in 2004.
ETON DORNEY, England - Natalie Mastracci became the first former Syracuse student-athlete to win a medal at the 2012 London Olympics, winning silver with the Canada women's eight at the Eton Dorney rowing facility on Thursday.
Canada finished second to the U.S. eight, which won gold for the second straight Olympics, and the Netherlands took bronze.
Before a raucous crowd of 30,000, the Canadians finished in a time of 6:12.06, 1.47 seconds behind the U.S. (6:10.59) and 1.06 seconds in front of the Dutch.
Mastracci and the Canadians grabbed the second-place position early on as the U.S. built a sizeable lead on the field through the first 1,500 meters, but Team Canada put on a late charge in the sprint, gaining seats on the Americans in the final 200 meters and holding off the Dutch.
After a fourth-place finish in Beijing in 2008, Canada's W8+ had become the major threat to the Americans, finishing second by .74 seconds at last year's World Championship and by just .03 seconds at a World Cup race in Lucerne, Switzerland in May. Canada then posted the top time in the Olympic heats (6:13.91 to 6:14.68), setting up Thursday's two-boat showdown.
It marks the third straight Olympic Games in which a former Syracuse rower has medaled. Anna Goodale won gold with the U.S. team and Helen Tanger took silver for the Netherlands in 2008, while Tanger and Froukje Wegman won bronze with the Dutch squad in 2004.
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