Purchase wins Olympic Gold

9:04am Sunday 17th August 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

MARLOW'S Zac Purchase won Olympic Rowing Gold this morning winning the lightweight double sculls with partner Mark Hunter.

The pair completed an unbeaten season as they eased ahead of the five other crews in the final with 600m gone and held off a late push from Greece.

World champions Denmark were left trailing in third as the Great Britain boat took the glory in a time of six minutes, 10.99 seconds.

Afterwards Purchase was lost for words.

He said: "It's unbeleivable. It came down to six minutes of hell but it is a fantastic result.

"We said in October that we wanted to come here and win this and now we have."

Fellow Marlow Steve Redgrave was waterside in China to see their triumph first hand.

The five times Olympic Champion said: "They looked so calm and collected and rowed beautifully."

Purchase's partner Hunter requried medical attention at the end of an exhausting race but it was all smiles afterwards as the pair claimed Britain's first ever lightweight double gold.

Purchase, whose parents were out in China to watch his triumph said, "We knew they (Greece) would come back but we put the work in early so we could hold on at the finish."