French win gold in men's lightweight double sculls

France hung on to win the lightweight men's double sculls in the Olympics rowing regatta on Friday in a very tight finish that saw Ireland battle it out with Norway's boat for the silver.

Published : Aug 12, 2016 20:17 IST , Rio de Janeiro

France's Pierre Houin (left) and Jeremie Azou with their gold medals.
France's Pierre Houin (left) and Jeremie Azou with their gold medals.
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France's Pierre Houin (left) and Jeremie Azou with their gold medals.

France hung on to win the lightweight men's double sculls in the Olympics rowing regatta on Friday in a very tight finish that saw Ireland battle it out with Norway's boat for the silver. France's Pierre Houin and Jeremie Azou, who won in 6:30.70, took away the gold medal.

Read: >Dutch take women's lightweight double sculls

Irish brothers Gary and Paul O'Donovan ultimately claimed silver medal. They came just 0.53 seconds behind France. Norway's Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli finished in 6:31.39 to claim the bronze medal.

Also read: >Ayana shatters 10,000m world record to take gold

Team USA, which has never medalled in the event, came heartbreakingly close to making a run for it — nearly catching the lead at the halfway point, just 0.13 second behind France.

Also read: >British men's four win fifth consecutive gold

Also read: >Britain's Stanning and Glover dominate again

But the American men were denied in the final metres, dipping to a crushing fifth-place finish.

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