PARIS – Former California men's rower Olav Molenaar '22 earned his first Olympic medal, taking home a silver in the men's eight Saturday morning. Molenaar and The Netherlands earned a berth into the A finals by winning the repechage on Thursday.

The Flying Dutchmen got out to a great start and were bow to bow with Great Britain for the early lead at the 500-meter mark. The two boats exchanged leads with every stroke through the second 500 meters and were even at the halfway point. The British crew eventually took control of the race, going ahead of Molenaar and The Netherlands by four seats over the third 500 meters while the United States crew made a move and was only two seats behind The Netherlands in third place. Over the last 500 meters it was a battle between The Netherlands and U.S. for second place and the Dutch were able to hold off the Americans to win the silver in a time of 5:23.92.
 
This marks the fifth Olympic medal in the men's eight for The Netherlands with the most recent coming in a bronze finish at the 2016 Rio de Janiero Games. The Netherlands now have 13 medals (5 gold, 4 bronze, 4 silver) in the Paris Olympics.
 
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