Swiss rowers win gold in Rio

If Switzerland takes home two more medals they will have hit their target Keystone

Switzerland has picked up its third medal at the summer Olympics in Rio. On Thursday the Swiss team took gold in rowing.

Mario Gyr, Simon Niepmann, Simon Schürch und Lucas Tramèr rowed their way to victory in the lightweight men’s four event on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon.

The world champions and two-time European champions beat silver-medal takers Denmark by 1.46 seconds in the 2000 metre race. The Swiss finished in 6:20:51.

Bronze went to France. The Swiss aren’t known for their fast starts, but after a quarter of the course, they were not far of the leading Danes. Just before the 1000 metre mark the Swiss powered through and took the lead, maintaining their position until the end.

It’s the seventh gold medal for the Swiss Rowing Association, their first since 1996.

This is Switzerland’s second gold at this Olympics – cyclist Fabian Cancellara took gold on Wednesday and shooter Heidi Diethelm Gerber won a bronze medal on Tuesday. The Swiss team in Rio hopes to bring home five medals in total.