Rochester Olympian Gia Doonan places fourth in Tokyo

Jul 29, 2021

ROCHESTER — Rochester Olympian Gia Doonan and her partners on the US Olympic rowing team came in fourth place in the Women’s Eight final on Thursday, July 29, snapping a three-Olympic streak of gold medals for the US in the event.

The team finished with a time of 6:02.78, 3.65 seconds behind first place Canada. New Zealand took silver in the event, while China edged out the US to win the final spot on the podium.

Doonan’s mom, Liza, said it was “electrifying” to watch her daughter race on the world stage. 

“We’re thrilled,” she said. “She’s top four in the world.” 

After the race, Liza said Gia is proud of herself and her team, “although it was not what they wanted.” 

“She’s exhausted,” Liza said. “She’s spent.” 

The Romanian team, which set a world record two days earlier in the repechage event with a time of 5:52.99, finished last in the final at 6:04.06.

Doonan and her team qualified for the finals after finishing first in their initial heat against Romania and Australia on July 23.