In an incredible finish to the men's single sculls final at the Olympic rowing regatta Saturday, Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and Croatia's Damir Martin crossed the line at the same time just as Martin appeared to pull past the defending champion. After moments of confusion, with even the two rowers asking each other who had won, the gold was awarded to Mahe in a photo-finish. Martin generously applauded him. "It could have gone either way," Drysdale told reporters. The television feed initially posted Martin as the winner then removed the result. The final time was given as 6 minutes 41.34 seconds. It went down to thousandths of a second, with Drysdale coming out on top. Synek, who has claimed all of the world championship titles since the 2012 Olympics in London, had to settle for the bronze. US extend unbeaten run in women's eight The United States' women's eight powered to the gold medal in the rowing regatta, extending a 10-year unbeaten run. The crew came into the 2016 Games as massive favorites, appearing unbeatable after winning gold at both the 2012 and 2008 Games. After trailing Canada and Netherlands in the first half, the US crew took the lead in the third section of the race. The British team came good in the last stretch to claim silver and Romania made a late surge to take bronze. The United States finished in 6 minutes 1.49 seconds, 2.49 seconds ahead of Britain. In the men's eights, Britain unseated a favored German boat to claim gold in 5:29.16. The Netherlands took bronze. Germany clinched its third Olympic shooting title in as many days Saturday as police officer Christian Reitz won the gold medal in the 25meter rapid fire pistol event. Upon winning his first gold in three Olympics, the 29-year-old Reitz walked across the range to hug fellow officer Jean Quiquampoix of France, who won the silver after a thrilling shoot-off with bronze medalist Li Yuehong of China.
