Dutch rower Florijn keeps it in the family with Olympic gold

VAIRES-sur-MARNE, France: Dutch rower Karolien Florijn dethroned reigning champion Emma Twigg in the women´s single sculls on Saturday to add to her family´s remarkable collection of Olympic gold medals.

The 26-year-old, the two-time reigning world champion, won her first Olympic gold with a time of 7min 17.28sec, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of New Zealand´s Twigg (7:19.14).

Viktorija Senkute (7:20.85) won Lithuania´s first-ever rowing medal with bronze.

Florijn was ahead at the 500 metre mark and never relinquished her lead on the 2,000m course.

Her victory comes after her brother, Finn Florijn, won gold in quadruple sculls earlier this week while their father, Ronald Florijn, is a two-time Olympic champion -- at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

"It means the world to me," said Florijn. "Winning a gold medal is what I wanted since I was born and doing it in the women´s single sculls, amongst the best rowers in the world." The Dutch rower paid tribute to dethroned champion Twigg.