MATT Aldridge was delighted with Olympic bronze after a turbulent run-in to his Games debut.

The Christchurch rower joined forces with Freddie Davidson, Oli Wilkes, and David Ambler to reach the podium in the men’s four event. 

After two smooth seasons that saw them win a host of gold medals, the crew have struggled with injury and illness this season, making bronze feel all the better.

“We’ve had ups and downs and we got to a point a couple of weeks out when we realised we weren’t going into this as favourites anymore,” said Aldridge.

“I think that took a huge amount of pressure off us, we could enjoy it and it makes it even sweeter. 

“Of course, we dreamed of winning this, but I’m incredibly proud of the performance we put out. I’m immensely proud and this has made the last three years worthwhile.”

The British crew got a sense of the challenge facing them in the heats when New Zealand beat them by more than two seconds.

They made a measured start and were in sixth and last place through the first 500 metres, but a strong middle kilometre saw them scythe through the field and into a medal position. 

They crossed the line a full 1.2 seconds ahead of Italy with a brilliant American crew running away with gold and New Zealand taking silver. 

Davidson said: “It’s probably the best race we’ve put together this year. It has been a really difficult road to get here.

“We kept our heads stuck in and were fighting back through the field for parts of it, but we stuck to our rhythm, kept trucking away and we’ve got a medal to show for it.”

Great Britain’s unbeaten run in the men’s four made legends of Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, and James Cracknell, spanning five successive golds from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016.

The run ended in ugly fashion in Tokyo after a high-profile steering error saw GB come fourth.

This is a totally new crew who have rowed without the burden of history and picked up a succession of major titles, earning plaudits for their smooth, technical style.

Davidson has been the constant in the stroke seat, setting the beat for back-to-back world crowns and a three-peat at the European Championships.

Aldridge, who missed the Worlds in 2022 due to Covid, has provided power in the middle of the boat along with Ambler, while Wilkes has made the bow seat his own since 2023. 

“For us, it’s always felt quite separate,” said Davidson. “None of us were in the team for Tokyo and we’ve never really felt like we had much of a hangover from previous Olympics.

“If anything, we feel more pressure from what we did in juniors and under-20s, rather than continuing the men’s four’s legacy.”

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