Nash brings home the Bronze

George Nash, CUBC president, has just won an Olympic Bronze medal in the London 2012 Olympics.

In the face of one of, if not the most impressive pairs ever, the New Zealanders Murray and Bond, the gold was never really on the cards, and the Catz student did well to take home a medal.

 Nash (left) with his Olympic medal

The race started off with a surprising move from the French, which would be a sign of things to come. Leading up to the 500m, it was clear pretty early on that their plan was to try and hang with the Kiwis for as long as possible, and try leave the rest to fight for bronze.

The Kiwis however were having none of this, and turned the screw rapidly and made up 2s in under 250m, and by this point there was nothing touching them, opening up to 3 or 4 lengths in rapid fashion.

Nash and Satch now found themselves with a dying French boat dropping back to them, and at the 1000m marker, were almost half a length up on them. The early spring of the French looked to have cost them dearly.

 The British pair in action

At 1500m though, it all began to come unglued, their initial lead of half a length had been clawed back to the 3ft by the French, and with a second wind blowing in for the French, Britain were in trouble.

Coming into the final 250, with the bow side blade of George Nash beginning to drift into the New Zealand lane, it was clear that those last 1750 world class meters had taken a serious toll. A heroic effort saw the guys ignore the pleas coming from their thighs and hold off the Italians in a thrilling close, securing the Bronze for team GB.

Congratulations to George Nash, this was certainly a third worth having!

Elsewhere, former Newnhamite Anna Watkins stormed home to take Gold in the women’s double sculls, continuing a long tradition of Cantab alumni Olympians.