A emphatic win in the women's double sculls kicked off a magic hour for New Zealand's Olympic rowers in Paris.
Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis claimed a gold medal - Aotearoa's second of the 2024 Games - in the first of four rowing finals for the Kiwis on Thursday evening.
Shortly afterwards, the men's four bagged a silver, while the women's four - which includes Spoors' sister Phoebe - took out the bronze.
It was an intensely tight finish for Spoors and Francis as they held off the two-time world champion Romania and Great Britain.
An emotional Spoors told RNZ that she was dizzy with elation.
"I'm in shock and so proud, and I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best days ever."
Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis react after winning gold. Photo: OLIVIER MORIN / AFP
Francis said the pair took the race "stroke by stroke".
"You know in finals racing you can get caught out if you're thinking about the medal before you put the strokes in, and Emma Twigg just told us we won by an inch so it was close."
Both women won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before taking time off to start their families.
Their children were both in the stands in Paris to see their mothers claim the win.
The pair sat in third in the early stages, but powered in front at the halfway mark, finishing with a time of five minutes and 55 seconds.
The rowers were both overcome with emotion as they received their medals. Photo: AFP/BERTRAND GUAY
They said they were thinking about Joe Sullivan and Nathan Cohen's gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
"A lot of really experienced rowers had said to us 'it is going to be tight'," Spoors said.
"So over the last 200m I just put my head down and I thought this has to be like Joe and Nathan - [the strokes] have to be short and they have to be punchy."
The men did not fare as well in their double sculls competition, which was won by Romania.
New Zealanders Robbie Manson and Jordan Parry crossed the finish line in sixth spot to end their Olympic medal hopes.
