1 ROWING: Northwich has a first Olympic champion

What? Olympic Games regatta

When? August 13

Where? Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

An obvious choice, of course.

On a sunny August afternoon, rower Matthew Langridge realised his dream of becoming an Olympic champion when he helped Team GB’s men’s eight to victory on the water at Rio.

They did it in style too, blowing away defending champions Germany with a scintillating display of dominance.

In a small wooden clubhouse next to the River Weaver in Northwich, where he learned to scull, an enthralled crowd of friends and supporters celebrated wildly.

After near misses at the previous two games, where the 33-year-old had won silver and then bronze medals in the same boat class, they knew better than most just what it meant.

How we reported it: http://bit.ly/2bpXwak

How we Tweeted it:

Our sports writer remembers:

“I couldn’t be in Rio, so the next best thing was to join an emotional bunch at Northwich Rowing Club.

“The collective roar that greeted Matt’s finest hour will live with me forever.

“He couldn’t hear them, but he admitted on his return that watching a video clip of their reaction to his gold medal-winning feat had made him uncharacteristically sentimental.

“Northwich is a town with a proud heritage across a number of sports, but an Olympic champion did not appear on its roll-call of achievements.

“For a boy that lived only a stone’s throw from the River Weaver, and who went to school nearby, to be the first makes the memory more magical.

“Matt Langridge really is a home-grown star; one of our own.”