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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Britain may rule the waves on Rios choppy rowing course, but the nations dominance of yet another Olympic regatta has been built on tales of sacrifice and the power of mental strength over physical pain.Following Fridays pair of golds, Great Britain would claim another brace of medals in the space of half an hour on the final day of racing at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.First the womens eight won silver -- their first ever medal in that class -- before their male counterparts led from start to finish to win their first gold since 2000. It was a ruthless display of British power with those two medals sitting alongside the other three GB have won on these Brazilian waves.For four of the womens eight, plus cox Zoe de Toledo, it was their first Olympics. At the other end of the experience scale was Frances Houghton, appearing in her fifth Games. She will be the self-appointed steward for celebrations Saturday night, and her medal -- which sits alongside silvers in 2004 and 2008 -- capped a remarkable sporting journey.Ive got so many memories I am really proud of, Houghton said. This time I am so proud of my crew. Im really proud of what we put together as nine girls.Im so proud of all the girls since 1997. Our first medal in the world championships in the eight was 1997 and so many girls have put into what you saw today. I am really proud. I am so lucky and privileged to have this experience in a sport I love.Standing in the crowd and willing her on were her mother and fiancee, carrying the flag her late father Robin took to Frances races.With my dad passing away during the racing season in May, it was really hard, Houghton said. But it was also something that gave me great strength. He really helped me get through the hard times in rowing. And we were really under pressure, and there were lots of trials going on at the time.But it made me know for sure that I wanted to be rowing. I could have walked away from it and said, No, this is more important. But he really wanted me to be rowing.He passed away maybe six days before I was selected for the fifth Games. I think he knew that I had done enough. The girls have just been incredible. When I was rowing, it was just all about rowing and I was so lucky to have the rowing to get me through that, and my dad to get me through the rowing.As the women went about their post-race media duties, some cried, some let out their emotion through screams and shouts of celebrations, and all embraced. Then the mens eight stormed to victory behind them on the Lagoa.Cue an immediate return to scenes of British pride and celebration, rivaling the patriotic outpourings of the Last Night of the Proms.But there was no pomp and circumstance about the way the men executed their race. They ignored the opposition and focused on the job in hand, their collective thousand-mile stare married with the agonizing pain engulfing their bodies.Afterwards the rowers struggled to relay their emotions. It was too fresh, but there was a clarity behind their message: This was an effort built on sacrifice, focus and teamwork.The fact that weve done it three years on the trot in the world championships meant we were there to be shot down, Will Satch said. And having the confidence to go out there and do it over and over again -- we havent had the best year, but that was the strongest eight we could have put out.Its awesome, heroic.Rio was Pete Reeds third Olympic gold, following on from triumphs in the coxswainless four at 2008 and 2012. He was reluctant to compare one to another -- unsure whether he will continue to Tokyo 2020 -- but as he weighed up the sacrifices made, it felt like a stream of consciousness as his achievement sunk in.Ive been sacrificing things for a very long time, he said Ive sacrificed my career in the navy, Ive sacrificed relationships, time with famil