Soon-to-be three-time Olympic rower Darcy Marquardt helped Canada's women's eight capture a World Cup event in Munich, Germany on the weekend.
The 33-year-old from Richmond, who competed at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games, is one of three B.C. athletes on the eight crew. Canada's winning time was 6: 19.31, with Romania taking silver in 6: 20.72, and Great Britain (6: 22.31) overtaking the Netherlands for the bronze.
"We went out to set the tone through the middle of the race, and it paid off with a decent margin going into the last 500 metres," said Marquardt. "This is just another step on the road to London and we're excited to go home and get faster before the big competition in August."
The eight had a close encounter with gold last month in Lucerne, when they were beaten by only .03 of a second by the U.S.
The Americans, however, were not in Munich, and the Olympic women's eight race promises to be one to watch for North American rowing fans.
"We leave inspired and ready to head home to gain more speed! A lot was learned on our European tour," added Port Moody's Krista Guloien.
