Hebden's Andy Hodge wins second Olympic rowing gold (From Craven Herald)

Hebden's Andy Hodge wins second Olympic rowing gold

10:33am Thursday 2nd August 2012 in News

Hebden's Andy Hodge won his second Olympic rowing gold medal in the men's fours at Eton Dorney today.

Great Britain started well and soon established a lead by the 500 metre mark with their main rivals Australia in close pursuit.

Hodge, Pete Reed, Tom James and Alex Gregory were moving smoothly but at the 1500 metres their lead was just a quarter of a length.

Roared on by the crowd they extended their lead and held off a strong finish from Australia. USA took third place.

The final was a contrast from Thursday's semi-final when Australia led for much of the race before being overtaken by a great finish from Hodge and his colleagues.

Afterwards an ectstatic Hodge said: "I am the happiest man in the world right now. I thank the crowd, our families and my wife for the wonderful support.

"This performance has been four years in the making. These guys are fantastic and we executed our plan perfectly."

Before the race Hodge said his aim was to stand on the podium singing the national anthem louder than anybody else and after receiving his medal he did just that.

Today's victory was confirmed the wisdom of coach Jurgen Grobler bringing Hodge and Reed - both members of the gold medal crew in Beijing - back into the four this season  after racing for three seasons as a pair.