Rowing

Britain's Matthew Pinsent won his fourth consecutive Olympic gold amid tears of joy and relief and on the final day the US stormed to their first Olympic men's title in 40 years.

The Olympic rowing regatta opened to dire warnings of gale force winds and rolling waves.

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It closed with one of the closest and most exciting Olympic finals held in sunny, perfect conditions to the delight of thousands of boisterous, flag-waving fans.

On the first finals day, Britain's Matthew Pinsent won his fourth consecutive Olympic gold in a photo finish amid tears of joy and relief and on the final day the United States stormed to their first Olympic men's eight's title in 40 years.

To the delight of the patriotic American supporters, the men's eight roared their national anthem while holding back the tears and then rowed a lap of honour sporting the "Stars and Stripes" flag from the stern of their boat.

The British, while a little more restrained, also let their emotions show.

Pinsent broke down and sobbed uncontrollably on the podium after a tough year marred by injury and criticism.

With Sydney champion James Cracknell, the 33-year-old former Etonion had moved into the four after being beaten at the 2003 world championships in a pair.

After several crew changes due to injury, they joined Ed Coode and Steve Williams to beat world champions and favourites Canada by 0.08 seconds.

FLAWLESS TECHNIQUE

In contrast to the power of the British crew, Australia's James Tomkins and Drew Ginn gave the spectators a lesson in finesse and technique to win the coxless pair's gold.

The win for the popular Australians gave Tomkins his third Olympic gold and Ginn his second.

"I think the human spirit can overcome many things," said Ginn, who thought his career was finished after missing the Sydney Games due to a back injury.

In the final race of the regatta, the the blue riband eights took centre stage.

The men's final had been billed as a showdown between the U.S. and fierce rivals Canada, the double world champions.

But after challenging early on the Canadians faded into fifth, leaving the U.S. to punch the air and scream for joy as they crossed the line.

"It's 40 years since we won this," their coach Mike Teti said. "They wanted to end it."

In the women's eights, Elisabetha Lipa became the most medalled Olympic rower of all time as Romania retained their title.

"I dedicate this medal to myself because I have worked so hard over the last four years for just six minutes of racing," said Lipa, who has eight Olympic medals.

So the lasting memory of the Athens regatta should be Lipa's fifth Olympic gold, Pinsent's fourth and America's first in 40 -- and not the weather.