Canada's men's 8 has rowed its way to a silver medal in London.  In the boat--Andrew Byrnes, a member of the St. Catharines Rowing Club.

Cheering them on from home was Jason Dorland, an Olympic rower in the 1988 games in Seoul.  He tells 610 CKTB's Tim Denis no matter who you were rooting for, the race was a thriller.

Dorland says it was cool to see how excited the Canadian crew was with 2nd place.  The Germans took gold & it was a bronze for Team GB.

Dorland says the silver finish was extra sweet after the men's 8's last place finish in their qualifying heat.  They needed the repechage round to secure a spot in the final.  The rowing veteran says the crew's Olympic inexperience showed in that first race.  Only 2 returning members, plus the coxswain of the 2008 gold medal boat competed in London.  Andrew Byrnes is one of them.

Byrnes tweeted about his medal-winning race Tuesday saying "Silver Medal for Canada!! Tight race. So excited with this result after a shakey (sic) start!".  Byrnes attached a closeup of the medal hanging around his neck.

Canada's women's 8 has a shot at a medal too in their final on Thursday.  Thorold's Natalie Mastracci is part of that crew.

Team Canada now has 5 medals in London--1 silver & 4 bronze.  They're aiming for a top-12 finish at the Summer Games.

 **Photo, Andrew Byrnes twitter