Emma Twigg has worked harder than anyone else to win an Olympic gold medal. No one will look down on her for basking in the spotlight.
An remarkable Olympic regatta and an incredible, at times unlucky, career came to a close when Twigg won the gold medal in the single sculls event for the fourth time.
When she won gold, it set off a string of victories for New Zealand at the Olympics that culminated in the men’s eight winning their first gold medal since the 1972 Games.
E. Twigg Olympic Games
Twigg, 34, has overcome what seemed to be a horrible Olympic fate, finishing in sixth, fourth, fourth, and first place before quitting the sport.
From the gun, Twigg looked great, establishing a modest lead at 500 metres then a commanding one at the halfway point. As her advantage over Russian wunderkind Hanna Prakatsen and Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig grew, all hope that they may finish tied was quickly extinguished.
Twigg won in a world record time of 7 minutes, 13.97 seconds, setting an Olympic standard. Silver went to Prakatsen in 7 minutes, 17.39 seconds, while bronze went to Lobnig in 7 minutes, 19.72 seconds.
“Wow, that’s unbelievable. The point of no return, honestly, was when my disbelief “Twigg, who was obviously tired, told Sky Sport.
“I assumed I had stopped before the line because I didn’t hear the hooter.
“I don’t even know what to say at this point. It’s impossible for me to accept. Over the course of these many years, I’ve been through a lot of heartbreak. The individuals I have in my life are truly amazing, and I am very grateful to them. They were successful in bringing me here. I can’t take credit for that; my team did it.
BackGround And Schooling of E. Twigg
On March 1, 1987, in Napier, New Zealand, Emma Kimberley Twigg entered the world. Her dad is a rowing coach, so of course he pushed her to give it a shot. In 2001, she took up rowing, first for her school and afterwards with the Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club. She always wanted to be the New Zealand Olympic team when she was a young girl.
Twigg earned a baccalaureate degree in communications from the University of Waikato in 2011. She completed the FIFA Master Program and earned her master’s degree in international sports management in 2015. The English, Italian, and Swiss campuses of FIFA Master provide courses in sports law, management, and humanities.
Career of E. Twigg
Twigg rowed in an eight-man scull at the 2003 World Junior Rowing Championships in Athens, Greece. Her squad ended up in the bottom half of the standings. For another two years, she competed successfully in the women’s eight-person event.
In 2005, she competed in the World Rowing U23 (under 23) Championships in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and finished in fourth place overall in the single sculls event.
After that, Twigg went on to compete in the World Junior Rowing Championships in Brandenburg, Germany, where she took first place in the single sculls event and won the gold medal. She focused on the eight-person event in 2006, then switched to single sculls.
At the 2007 World Rowing U23 Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, Twigg triumphed in the single sculls competition. She qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, after finishing sixth in the World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany.
Final Words
She placed eighth overall at the Olympic competition. Throughout the next four years, Twigg finished in the top five at every World Cup and World Championship in which she participated.