Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre are reveling in their achievement as two-time Olympic medallists after securing Australia’s inaugural rowing medal in Paris, earning bronze in the women’s pair event.
The Australian duo finished behind the impressive Dutch team of Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester, with Romania’s Ioana Vrinceanu and Roxana Anghel snagging silver on Friday morning at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
This bronze adds to the duo’s previous Olympic success, having clinched gold in the four category during the Tokyo Games.
After receiving their medal, the pair were warmly embraced by billionaire mining tycoon and rowing supporter Gina Rinehart.
Morrison, 32, expressed that Ms. Rinehart contributes more than just financial support to the athletes.
“She expressed how proud she is of us,” Morrison stated, noting that despite completing her economics degree and MBA, she relies on Ms. Rinehart’s direct funding for the sport.
“She’s truly part of our journey. She doesn’t merely offer support from a distance; she’s actively involved with us.
“We frequently receive messages from her, and she remains updated despite her hectic schedule, which we greatly appreciate.”
Australia has secured another Olympic medal, with Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre winning bronze in the rowing
Morrison and McIntyre join the ranks of Kate Slatter, who achieved gold in the pair in 1996 and silver in 2000, and Kim Brennan, who claimed two sculling medals in London and gold in Rio, as the only Australian women to earn multiple Olympic rowing medals.
The duo expressed their satisfaction in giving their best effort during the race.
‘We’re extremely proud of our performance,’ remarked McIntyre, 27, from Western Australia.
‘Our strategy was to be aggressive right from the start and simply race our race.
‘It’s always challenging to be overtaken at the finish, but we’re satisfied with our performance. We gave it our all today and couldn’t have done much better.’
Clevering and Meester, who were part of the Dutch team that Australia relegated to the silver medal position in Tokyo, surged ahead from the start and maintained their lead.
The Aussies were narrowly pipped to the finish line by the Romanians, who swept past Morrison and McIntyre in the final stages
The Dutch team finished 4.3 seconds ahead while the rest of the competitors vied for the minor medals.
For much of the final, Australia seemed on track for silver but was overtaken by Romania with approximately 100m to go, finishing 0.57 seconds shy of silver.
The bronze medal serves as a form of redemption for Morrison and McIntyre after they unfortunately missed the pair final in Tokyo.
They were attempting the uncommon achievement of winning medals in different boat classes at the same Olympic Games and successfully secured gold in the four category.
However, due to a tropical storm, the Tokyo organizing committee had to rearrange the schedule, reducing the time between the final of the four and the semi-final of the pair from an expected 24 hours to merely two hours.
This quick turnaround proved too challenging, resulting in the duo narrowly missing the medal race by 0.34 seconds.
“It felt like completing the cycle. Leaving with not just the journey but also the medal is an enjoyable experience,” McIntyre expressed.
