Rowing: Drysdale repeats gold in dramatic style

New Zealand single sculler Mahe Drysdale defended his rowing world championships title in dramatic style at Eton Dorney in England today.

Drysdale launched a thrilling comeback to haul in Germany's Marcel Hacker, who appeared to have gold sewn up until the final few strokes.

In one of the most thrilling finishes of recent times, Drysdale held his head in his hands after realising he had caught his great German friend and defended the title he won in more comfortable style at Japan a year ago.

Drysdale needed a world record time of six minutes 35.40 seconds to win, beating Hacker's old mark.

The 27-year-old from Mt Maunganui was just 0.09sec clear of the German, the winning margin appearing to be about 20cm on the finish line.

Drysdale was fourth through the first 500m and improved one place through each quarter of the race. At more than a length behind Hacker through the 1500m mark, it appeared too much ground to cover but the New Zealander upped his stroke rate in awesome style.

Third was Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic, with O lympic champion Olaf Tufte of Norway fourth.

Earlier New Zealand's Duncan Grant made a brilliant recovery to win a lightweight single sculls bronze medal.

Grant ran into trouble with the buoys on the left side of his sixth lane in the opening strokes of the race on the Eton Dorney course.

He dropped quickly to sixth and last but had righted his boat by the 500m mark to be fourth.

The sculler from Blenheim's Wairau club, who was a late inclusion in the New Zealand team, moved quickly past Elias Pappas of Greece but couldn't haul in British winner Zac Purchase or Spanish silver medallist Guimerai Zunzunegui.

Purchase, 20, won host Great Britain's first gold of the championships in a world best time of six minutes 47.82 seconds, more than 2sec clear of the Spaniard.

Grant, who qualified fourth fastest for the final, clocked an impressive 6min 52.73sec.

The other three New Zealand crews to race finals today all won gold medals in their respective events at the world championships in Japan last year.

They are, in order tonight, women's pair Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles, men's pair Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater and women's double scullers Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell.

The men's coxed four of Dane Boswell, Paul Gerritsen, James Dallinger, Steven Cottle and cox Daniel Quigley were to contest their final tomorrow.

Earlier today the men's coxless four of Eric Murray, Selwyn Cleland, Carl Meyer and Hamish Bond finished third in their B-final in a time of five minutes 54.98 seconds.

- NZPA