(BEIJING, August 16) -- Olaf Tufte of Norway successfully defended his Olympic title in the Men's Single Sculls with a time of 6:59.83 on Saturday, August 16, holding off second-place finisher finisher Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic by 0.8 seconds. Third place went to Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand.

　　Olaf Tufte is a three-time Olympian. He won gold in Men's Single Sculls in Athens Games. This time he got off a fast start in was in third place at the 500m mark, and then raced pulled into the first place at the first 1,000m mark.half point. Falling a second behind Drysdale at the 1,500m mark, Tufte upped his rate and grabbed gold in the final stretch.

　　"This has been my goal for four years. I have had some injuries and some sickness that's been tough. The people around me have helped me through and now I've won gold," Tuft said. Asked what he planned to do next, Tuft replied, "I'm going home and getting married."

　　Coming to the last 500 meters, he upped his rate and crossed the line first.

　　Two-time Olympian Ondrei Synek was a rowing veteran. He took the fifth place in double sculls in Athens Games and in singles at 2008 Lucerne Rowing World Ccup. He started not fast, but a impressive sprint secured him a silver medal.

　　World champion Mahe Drysdale is was a hot favorite in coming into the event but produced some mediocre results in the earlier rounds. He was leading at the 1,500m mark but fell into third in the final sprint.

　　this event. He was the last qualifier to the medal race. Though he was in first place at 1,500m mark, he was not quick enough to clinch the gold in the final sprint.

　　Men's Single Sculls, final standings:

　　1. Norway -- Olaf Tufte, 6:59.83

　　2. Czech Republic -- Ondrej Synek, 7:00.63

　　3. New Zealand -- Mahe Drysdale, 7:01.56

　　4. Czech Republic -- Ondrej Synek, 7:03.40

　　5. Great Britain -- Alan Campbell, 7:04.47

　　6. Sweden -- Lassi Karonen, 7:07.64