Karolien Flijn, a Dutch woman rower who had dominated the competition for a whole week, went into the final of her single-sculls women's event with an extremely simple strategy. It paid off as she won gold ahead of New Zealand's Emma Twigg.

Florijn, knowing that the highly experienced Twigg was going to make it difficult for her to win the Olympic title over the Kiwi woman, decided to stay with the basics.

After winning the gold medal, she said: "I have one simple race plan - I want to start fast, keep going and see how much energy is left in my last 500 meters. Then (leave everything) out there."

I tried to respond to Emma because she had also made a good start. "Okay, yes, I'm working today, but I thought it was very nice," said the woman.

Florijn, 26, set the bar high in the heats and semifinals. But Twigg was not to be underestimated.

"I felt confident but I had to work hard every time." Florijn said, "I was confident (of my abilities), but Emma wanted the gold medal today so I worked until the end."

It's a very unique experience to share this field with some of the most powerful women in the entire world. The field itself is of such high quality. "I respect my competitors, because they also put in a lot of work."

Viktorija Senkute of Lithuania was one who put in the most effort. She did not allow her epilepsy to bother her, and she sprinted past Australia's Tara Rigney for bronze.

"It's (epilepsy), to me, means absolutely nothing - it isn't a handicap at all." Senkute, a giddy Senkute, said, "It's one of my missions to spread the word that epilepsy is just a normal condition, a regular person, who wins Olympic medals."

It was only by doing what I wanted, what I loved, that I achieved my goals. "I still can't quite believe it. It's so heavy!" She said as she weighed her medal.

"I knew that if I watched straight, did my strokes and performed the finish I practice at home I would be able do it. "When I saw Lithuania, everything else was history," said she. Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Ken Ferris

(source: Reuters)