American rower Justin Best has always had his sights set on the top step of the Olympic podium, and Thursday, the 26-year-old from Pennsylvania finally made it as his country won its first gold in the men's four since the 1960 Rome Games.
The U.S. victory was a lot more comfortable than the 0.85-second winning margin would suggest as Best and his crew -- Nick Mead, Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan -- cruised through the 2,000-meter course with barely a ripple in their wake to finish ahead of New Zealand and Britain.
"In high school, I wanted to see how far I could take this. I had in the back of my head the Olympics, and in the back further, I had gold medalist," Best told reporters. "After years and years of trials and tribulations, ups and downs, I can finally say that I'm on the top of the podium."
New Zealand, Romania and the Netherlands also claimed gold medals in the double sculls and fours Olympic competitions at the Vaires-sur-Marnes Nautical Stadium.
Many athletes speak of how they decided early in life that they wanted to be Olympians, but few would have been as vocal about it as Best in his teenage years.
"It was a long-term goal. My long-term girlfriend, my first date, I told her, 'Hey, I want to go to the Olympics and rowing's very important to me, so if you want to go along with that, we can make this work,'" he said. "I'm just glad to be able to stand here today and show that dreams can be accomplished. You just have to put your mind to it. You have to have that willingness to go deep, well beyond anyone's expectations of you."
After a thrilling morning of racing in the Olympic regatta, the American triumph was almost a letdown as they led at every split, but that did not dilute Best's joy.
"Crossing that finish line, I was just bawling my eyes out. Seeing the flag being raised, I love these guys, I love the United States of America, and I wouldn't want to do it with another group," he said.
Kicking off a period of just over an hour in which four medal events were held, the New Zealand crew of Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors (6:50:45) held their nerve in a tight finish to edge Romania by 0.24 seconds. The pair have both become mothers since the last Olympics, and they paid tribute to their children, who were watching from the stands, after their victory.
"They're definitely our superpower in the background. Since Tokyo we've both believed we could win this race," Spoors said. "It's been a slow build, but to be here and finally do it in front of them, I can't believe it."
Romania won a back-and-forth battle with the Netherlands in the men's double sculls final, with Ireland taking the bronze.
After a fourth place and a silver medal in the opening two races, the Dutch finally made the top step of the podium in the women's four final after a thrilling showdown with the British crew that saw them finish 0.18 seconds in front to grab gold.
"I just went, 'Keep rowing, keep rowing,' then I heard Hermijntje [Drenth] behind me: 'Guys, we won,'" Tinka Offereins of the Dutch team said. "I looked too late at the screen, and we were first. It was not normal. I can't believe it."
Reuters contributed to this report.