Men's Eight-worldrowing.com's take

Below is what www.worldrowing.com had to say about the Men's Eight. I just copied and pasted it.

Men’s Eight (M8+) A lot is at stake in this event. Germany pin their rowing hopes on the men’s eight and have already undergone some last-minute team changes - including the coach - to make sure they deliver their best. The United States put its top sweep rowers into this boat as does Canada. Australia’s rowing hero James Tomkins describes this boat as rowing itself, the V8 of the sport. Coming into the Olympic Games, Athens champions the United States are a bit of a mystery. Coach Mike Teti has chosen not to race them internationally this year and they finished a disappointing fourth last year. But Teti plays a clever game and there is no doubt that he will be doing what’s right. Canada is less of a mystery. They are the reigning World Champions and have convincingly won the only race they had this season. These two crews must surely be leading the way. The big question mark hangs over China and Great Britain. China qualified for the Olympics by finishing seventh last year and have improved to pick up two very welcome Rowing World Cup medals this season. The Chinese nation has backed and hyped this boat to the hilt. They have the weight of 1.3 billion Chinese on their shoulders. Great Britain is also improving and has medalled at all three Rowing World Cups this season, despite regular crew changes. Keep an eye out also for the Australian boat - featuring the mighty Tomkins at his fifth Olympic Games, they won gold at the Rowing World Cup in Munich in May.