Grainger Makes British History with Fifth Olympic Medal

The bet app and sportsbook news has been buzzing with everything surrounding the most popular Olympics events, and a historical moment for one accomplished British athlete is worth pointing out.

In a thrilling finish that claimed silver, British rower Katherine Grainger became the first female from the country to claim a medal in five consecutive Olympic Games. She and her partner, Victoria Thornley, competed in the women’s double sculls finals against an equally determined Polish duo.

The whole race was intense for the two teams, who kept it a tight competition until the end when Poland was able to pull ahead in the final 500 meters left to row. Though Poland ultimately claimed the gold medal win, the race proved to be a dramatic statement for the British women and Grainger in particular.

Now 40 years old, Grainger has competed in the water previously at the 2000 Sydney Games winning silver, the 2004 Athens Games with another silver win, a third silver at Beijing 2008, and finally claiming the gold during the 2012 London Olympics. This most recent silver medal puts her in the annals of history among British athletes. Her partner Thornley has now won her first Olympic medal in her second overall appearance.

Grainger says that the duo were coming down at the end and were required to put everything they had into the final leg of the race. She adds that, “We had to find something really big at the end there to hold onto the medal and I’m so pleased we did.” Grainger agrees with the majority of fans, bet app users, and reporters that the race was definitely dramatic.

While the win was certainly special, Grainger believes that it is hard to eclipse the gold medal that was won in London during 2012 simply because of all the buzz surrounding it and the implications that it had for a team winning in front of the home crowd. She reflects on the low points in between the two gatherings, saying, “There have of course been many, many dark days when I couldn’t see this happening so to be standing in the Rio sunshine with a medal around my neck is amazing.”

Grainger has already promised her parents that she won’t put them through the same ordeal again for the 2020 Tokyo Games, so the Olympian’s time on the water more than likely will be spent somewhere else four years from now.

Victoria Thornley is without a doubt incredibly excited to have her first medal and praises Grainger for her efforts in claiming silver. She says “I am so thankful to Katherine,” and that “She did everything so well in the race. It was a really great race from us and a silver medal is pretty nice I think.” Let’s hope for many more for Thornley to add to that silver.

At the present time, Team GB has won a total of 13 medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics. These include three gold medals, four silver medals, and six bronze medals. The current leader in Olympic medals won is the United States with a total of 32, followed by China who has 25.