Eightsome reels as GB medal in style

Great Britain’s men’s eight pose with their golds in Rio yesterday.

While six of the men’s crew boasted Olympic medals heading to Brazil, Houghton was the only member of the women’s eight to have tasted success on this stage.

The 35- year- old won women’s quad silver at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, adding a further silver medal at her fifth Games.

It was a poignant occasion for Houghton after her father Robin died earlier in the year, with his flag brought to the Lagoa by her mother Andrea.

“He’s up there and I’m just glad he got a great view and will have watched a great race,” Houghton said. “That’s wonderful.

“With my dad passing away during the racing season in May, it was really hard, but it was also something that gave me great strength.

“He really helped me get through the hard times in rowing and we were really under pressure and there were lots of trials going on at the time.

“But it really, really made me know for sure that I wanted to be rowing.

“I could have walked away from it and said, ‘ No, this is more important’ but he really wanted me to be rowing.

“He passed away maybe six days before I was selected for the fifth Games. I think he knew that I had done enough.

“The girls have just been incredible. When I was rowing, it was just all about rowing and I was so lucky to have the rowing to get me through that, and my dad to get me through the rowing.”

Britain topped the rowing medals table in Rio with three golds and two silvers but still fell short of UK Sport’s minimum expectation of six podium places.

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