The Australian Women’s and Men’s Eight have won gold medals at the first rowing World Cup in Munich, Germany.

In an exceptional performance the Women’s Eight crossed the line in a time of 6:36.29 to lead home the Chinese by two boat lengths, while Romania won the bronze medal.

In calmer conditions than the first three days, China led Australia by just under a second at the halfway mark before Australia lifted their rate to charge to the line over the last 750 metres.

Sarah Tait, captain of the Women’s Eight, says that the crew was forced to change their race plan after a tricky start.

“We got caught in a bit of dirty water at the start of the race which put us further back than we wanted”, Tait said. “We wanted to build a lead from the start but we changed our plan which shows the great versatility of the group.”

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It has been a quick ride up the ranks for track cyclist Alison Shanks. The former netballer switched to the bike less than three years ago, a decision which has paid off with her recent Olympic selection.

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AUSTRALIAN triathlete Felicity Abram has finished a close second in a World Cup race in South Africa and donated most of her prize money to disadvantaged children living in the townships.

The 21-year-old Queenslander, who was just pipped by Erin Densham for the third Australian women's berth alongside Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt at the Beijing Olympics, stormed home to finish three seconds behind Canada's Carolyn Murray in a time of two hours, three minutes and 35 seconds.

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AUSTRALIAN triathlete Felicity Abram finished a close second in a World Cup race in South Africa today then donated most of her prize to disadvantaged children from the townships.

The 21-year-old Queenslander, who was just pipped by Erin Densham for the third Australian women's berth alongside Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt at the Beijing Olympics, made the decision during the bike leg.

She stormed home to finish three seconds behind Canada's Carolyn Murray in a time of two hours, three minutes and 35 seconds.

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