The Beijing 2008 and world champions preserved their four-year unbeaten run, comfortably holding off Canada in silver with the Netherlands filling the bronze position.
Winning cox Mary Whipple beamed: “There’s no place I would rather be, I’m so proud, I’m satisfied.
“I’m nothing without my teammates, they’re my heroes, I love them so much.”
She added, “When we crossed, it was game over. I felt so much power. And when we took our stride, we were a little high, but it was beautiful.
“I just told them to breathe, to enjoy the moment, to feel each stroke. We got into our rhythm, and it was just a crushing rhythm, it was relentless.
“It was exactly what we planned to do, what we had practised, what we have visualised.
“An Olympic gold medal, it never gets old.”
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