Men's Eight Rowing Final: Germany Takes Gold, U.S. Falls Just Short Of Medal

The United States put up a valiant fight in the men's eight rowing final Wednesday at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. They were the fastest crew over the final 1,000 meters of the 2,000-meter course, but they couldn't overcome a rocky second 500 and ended up finishing just out of the medals, 0.3 seconds behind Great Britain.

Nobody was any match for the Germans, who led throughout the race outside of a blip around the 1,500-meter mark when the British sold themselves out to take the lead. The Germans were extremely quick off the line, posting a blistering 1:24.81 split over the first 500 meters to take control of the race.

Canada capitalized on Great Britain's sell-out move to overtake the British in the last 500, posting the second fastest sprint in winning the silver medal. The United States was nearly just as fast, but a 6.63 seconds gap to first place at the midway point of the race simply proved too much to overcome.

Rowing in the race was Steve Kasprzyk of Cinaminson, New Jersey.

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