The quad sculls are the class act of the sculling discipline – notoriously hard to get fast and blistering when handled well.

The Womens Quadruple Sculls

https://danielwspring.wordpress.com/2016/08/02/the-rio-olympics-womens-quad-preview/

• Australia “ So far in 2016 the Aussies have had a reasonable season, 5th in Lucerne was a little disappointing, but silver in Poznan showed they will be one of the main medal contenders.”
• China “ The fact they missed the A-final at the world championships last year meant they had to go through the Final Olympic Qualifying regatta. They stepped up to the challenge and won in Lucerne, securing their place in Rio. They followed that up a few days later with a 4th place in Lucerne.”
• Germany “Germany have dominated this event at the Olympics since it was introduced in 1976. It will take something very special to stop the Germans winning their 8th Olympic title. Germany for the gold.”
• Poland “ In Lucerne they got their revenge on the Germans and won another gold before finishing just outside the medals in a 4 boat final in Poznan. With this sort of form they must definitely be considered as one of the main challengers to the Germans. I’m going for them to win silver.”
• USA “The Americans produced a huge shock at the Aiguebelette World Championships in 2015 when the brought to an end German’s run of three straight World titles. The US have only raced once in 2016, with two quads racing at Lucerne. Neither performed particularly well; the US cannot be ruled out of contention for a medal.”

https://danielwspring.wordpress.com/2016/08/02/the-rio-olympics-mens-quad-sculls-preview/

• Australia “As a quad this crew took silver in 2015 and so far in 2016 have been unbeaten, winning in Lucerne and Poznan. They head into Rio as the form crew and will be very tough to beat. My picks for the gold.”
• Canada “One of only two Canadian men’s heavyweight crews qualified for Rio, the M4X got there the hard way, by winning the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta. The question is can they carry forward that early season form to Rio? I’m not sure they’re quite quick enough to get among the medals but they won’t be far off.”
• Estonia “The Estonians are the oldest crew in the event, with an average age of 33, but they are also the most experienced, with 10 Olympic appearances between them. On their day the Estonians are capable of producing medal winning speed, but, I think in Rio a medal might just be beyond them”
• Great Britain “So far in 2016 they’ve had some reasonable results, 5th in the maelstrom of the European Championships was followed by an excellent silver in Lucerne but they head into Rio as one of the leading contenders for a medal. If they race to their potential they could win an historic first Olympic M4X for GB.”
• Germany “Germany have won this event more times than any other nation. Now, with the same line-up that won the World championships in 2015 they will, once again, be one of the favourites for gold in Rio. I think it’ll be close but the Aussies may just pip them for gold.”
• Poland “Poland dominated this event in the first decade of this century. This strong performance so far this year makes them an outside bet for a medal, although I think they may just fall short.”
• Switzerland “With an average age of 22 the Swiss are the youngest crew in the event, but they are also one of the main contenders for a medal.”