Team GB star becomes first ever Olympian to win medal in both male and female events
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: Barrington Coombs/Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images
A Team GB Olympian has made history after becoming the first person to win medals in both men's and women's races due to his unique position.
There has been a lot of controversy concerning gender around this year's Paris 2024 Olympics, in particular over the boxing match between Algeria's Imane Khelif and Italy's Angela Carini.
But one GB star has gone on to make history by becoming the first person to ever win medals in both male and female events - and it's nothing to do with his gender.
Henry Fieldman, the man who made history, claimed his second bronze at the Paris Olympics, contributing to Team GB's third-place finish in the women's eight rowing event.
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And this medal comes as a follow-up to the bronze he won in the men's eight at Tokyo 2020.
At 36-years-old, his achievement is largely due to his role as a coxswain.
It's a unique position, because as of a rule change in 2017, it allows participation with rowers of the opposite sex.
Their position consists of - leading the crew, steering the boat, coordinating the stroke rate, and executing race strategies from their position at the stern.
Team GB had a time of 5:59.51 in the final, just behind Canada, who took silver, and Romania, who became victorious winning gold.
Post-race, Fieldman voiced his aspirations for the future success of the women's eight team.
He said: "I hope that now that we've had two Olympic medals in the women's eight that this could be the start of more women's eights medals to come - stepping on to greater things."
The medal-winning team were made up of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Harriet Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and Fieldman.
But the Team GB men's eight rowing team managed to secure a gold medal, just about beating the Netherlands with a final push in the third quarter of the 2,000m race.
They crossed the finish line with a time of 5:22.8, securing a slim 1.08 win.
Fieldman's victory in both the male and female categories comes at a time of great controversy in the Olympics, after misinformation has been wide-spread.
lgerian boxer Imane Khelif, who was born female and does not identify as male, has been incorrectly labelled as transgender.
The International Olympics Committee addressed the issue in a statement which said: "This is not a transgender issue.
"These women have been competing in competitions for many years.
"The testosterone is not a perfect test.
"Many women can have elevated levels of testosterone, which is in what would be called 'male levels' and still be women and still compete as women."