Helen Glover, two-time Olympic Champion, Team GB opening ceremony flag bearer and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist; Lauren Rowles, three-time Paralympic Champion and the world’s most successful Paralympic rower ever; and two-time Paralympic Champion cox, Erin Kennedy, who is also recognised for her breast cancer awareness work, have all been awarded OBEs (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the King’s New Year’s Honours List.

In addition, seven Olympic and Paralympic Champions have been awarded MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire). The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic gold medal winners receiving MBEs are Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson, and Georgie Brayshaw from the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x); Emily Craig and Imogen Grant from the Lightweight Women’s double sculls (LW2x) and Gregg Stevenson from the PR2 Mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix2x).

GB Rowing Team Director of Performance Louise Kingsley said, “A huge congratulations to the athletes who have been awarded OBEs and MBEs in the King’s New Year Honours List. The entire squad produced record breaking results at both the Olympics and Paralympics in the Summer and have continued to drive awareness and interest in the sport since their return home, by inspiring the next generation and giving back to the community with club visits, school visits and charity work. I’m very proud to see so many of them being recognised with Honours and it’s a fitting way to top off a very successful year!”

Long-serving British Rowing Umpire David Biddulph has also been awarded a BEM (British Empire Medal) for his services to rowing. He first qualified as a national umpire 45 years ago, in 1979, gaining Multi-Lane endorsement in 1992 and FISA (now World Rowing) status in 1995, and umpired the Men’s pair final at London 2012. David has been a prolific volunteer as an umpire on the domestic competition circuit and is also known to many in the rowing community as the creator of one of the earliest rowing information websites, which remains an essential source of competition calendar details, obituaries, and results.

British Rowing CEO Alastair Marks said, “Volunteers like David, whose continued dedication and contribution have had a lasting impact on the sport, are highly valued by the community. It’s truly gratifying to see him receive the recognition he so richly deserves.”

Photos: Benedict Tufnell and Team GB

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The GB Lightweight Women’s double sculls (LW2x) executed a race that was perhaps as close to perfection as you can get in rowing to win Team GB’s second rowing gold medal of these Games.

Off the start, the high-rating Romanians shot into a brief early lead, with New Zealand also showing strongly. But soon the British crew’s calm synchronicity on beautifully flat water brought their bows in front. By 500m in, they had established a lead of 0.12 seconds over Romania, and at half way had extended this to nearly a second and were half a length up. After that they continued to pull away and crossed the line to claim victory nearly a length ahead.

The race was the last hurrah for lightweight rowing at the Olympics, meaning Emily and Imogen will be the last Olympic Champions in their boat class. “This was the only result left for us to achieve and we did it,” Imogen said. “I’m feeling all the emotions; joy, disbelief, relief, tiredness, joy again, so much happiness and that feeling of a job well done.”

The expectations on the crew coming into these Games could hardly have been greater. Since missing out on gold in Tokyo 2020 by just 0.5 seconds, and on bronze by a tiny 0.01 seconds, they have won two World and European titles, remaining unbeaten throughout the Paris cycle.

Reflecting on this, Imogen explained: “The loss in Tokyo was part of our story and this Olympics is the grand finale I think. Not every Olympian gets it right on the first try and it wasn’t like we did anything wrong in Tokyo, but we’ve put so much work into this and we are such different and better people this time around that there was a certain inevitability to the racing today, we knew we could do it.”

Emily added: “That was probably the quickest race of our lives and it kind of just happened in a flash. There’s so much muscle memory, the race plan over the past few years has kind of become gospel and speaks to how much we believe in it and how process driven we are that we came out and we lived that process until the end and got the result we wanted.

“There has been pressure but also confidence. Today we knew we didn’t have to go out and pull something new out of thin air, we just had to race the race plan that we have and that’s what saw us over the line first. It’s a bit of a blur to be honest.”

Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360

In the Men’s pairs (M2-), Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George took the silver medal. They had led the race throughout until Croatia’s Sinkovic brothers, 2020 and 2016 Olympic Champions,  overhauled the British boat with a few strokes to go after a final sprint.

Tom said: “We had the perfect race from the start, pretty much to finish. We just didn’t have the perfect last three strokes – we were done, we were clinging on and we’d given it everything we had. To be that close is really special. The Olympics is a pressure cooker and it’s just the two of us. To be able to put out our best race when it really mattered, we were seriously brave with it especially after not having the perfect semi final. We said what we wanted to do, what we wanted to change and we went out and did that. It hurts a lot not to get the win, but we have a silver medal. We’re incredibly proud and happy with what we’ve achieved together. And doing it all with your best mate is pretty special. I know with a bit of hindsight we’ll be proud of what we achieved.”

Ollie said: “Today I’m really proud that we put that performance out there. We definitely took a risk in the first half, we said we wanted to grab it by the scruff of the neck, and unfortunately came up three strokes short. We wanted to race it like that, race for the gold medal and it’s an Olympic sport. It comes down to margins of seconds. The Croatians – fair play to them.”

Ollie added: “I have really enjoyed the project and the last two weeks being here. It’s a shame it’s not a fairytale ending but I wouldn’t change a bit from the last three years. I’m sure in the next few weeks we’ll look back with an immense amount of pride in what we’ve done.”

Earlier, the Women’s pair (W2-) of Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards finished sixth in the B Final, placing them 12th overall. Rebecca said: “We gave it our best shot. In the B Final, every crew in there thought they could’ve made the A Final and everyone went out as if it was an A final. So there’s no shame in that. It was a tight race, we were in and around the action and people were moving all the time. Everyone was really going for it. We’ve come here and done our best, we can walk away with our heads held high.”

The final day of racing at the 2024 Olympic Rowing Regatta will see the GB Women’s and Men’s eights – who both won their heats – in action at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris.

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The Dutch crew had led from the start but a final sprint and photo finish saw Team GB cross the line by just 0.15 seconds to top the podium.

Speaking after winning Team GB’s first ever gold medal in the Women’s quad, Lauren said: “It was just amazing! I could feel that we were moving on the Dutch crew, so in bow one of my jobs is to call to the other girls, so I said, ‘We’re going now. We need to go now!’ because I could sense we were coming back. Georgie and Lola in the stern really drove that finish and Hannah and I were with them the whole way. We started charging back and I could feel that ‘we’ve got this’.

“We have 100% belief in the race and 100% belief in each other and we just trust our plan and each other so much. We knew that if we deliver our best then we could get an outcome like this, so it was heads in all the way. We’re used to close racing but that was really tight, I felt we’d won it but it wasn’t until I looked over and saw ‘GBR 1’ that I let myself actually believe it and that moment was just ecstatic. We always thought during the race that we had a chance, we’ve come back from quite a long way before, and if we believe it’s over then it already is over. The moment we lose that belief we’ve lost the race so no matter how far behind we are in the race we’ll always have belief until we cross that finish line.”

Lola said: “I think everyone always wants to win as convincingly as possible. To be honest, there’s never a strict plan we look to follow exactly. Racing is always going to be fluid and dynamic and that’s part of what makes everyone here in this event Olympians, and the Olympic standard is the fact they know how to move with the race. If you’re down at the start it’s not over, if you’re down at the 1k, 500m or the 250m it’s not over, you’ve always got a chance to claw your way back. That’s what we have as a crew, we have unrelenting full trust knowing that if we commit we can move, and that’s what we did.”

Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360

Hannah said: “About 10 strokes from the line we just said ‘we got this’, then we just came through. We really trust in ourselves. We did this at the World Championships as well so we like to give people a tight race. We’ve been training for three years for moments like that and we weren’t going to let it go. Tough strokes have been taken every day for that, so other people could see it as nerve wracking but we were all eyes in. Getting the medal from Princess Anne was amazing! She made a good speech for us at the Embassy earlier in the week where she said to the three girls that it’s their first Games and to just enjoy it. It shows the talent with them that it’s their first Olympiad and they can get a gold medal. Turning it around from Tokyo, this is a really great surprise as well. But Princess Anne just said to enjoy it.”

Georgie said: “I just had belief in what they were telling me behind me. They had belief and I just trust them so much. It’s just incredible. I have no words. It means so much but I didn’t think too much about that and I just got on with it and ended up here, it’s amazing!”

Lola concluded: “Winning the first GB Olympic gold medal in the quad is amazing. There have been so many women who have come before us and so many women who have fed into this and gave us the belief. Fran Houghton has been a big part of our process, there have been so many people who have gone into this, Andrew Randell our coach, all the coaches, support staff and our families. The four of us got the medal but there’s so many more that have got it too and we are so grateful to them!”

It wasn’t to be for the Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of Tom Barras, Callum Dixon, Matt Haywood and Graeme Thomas, who missed the podium in a close, fourth place finish. Tom said: “We went out and gave it what we had. Fair play to the other crews, they were better than us today. However much the heartbreak is now as we sit here, we want to say thank you to all the people who helped us get this far to the biggest competition on earth. It means so much.”

Graeme said: “Obviously I’m absolutely gutted, but we gave it everything we had today. The last stroke counts and the Women’s quad went out and proved that. It’s amazing for British sculling and for the GB Rowing Team as a whole – we need those medals to come in and support our programme so a big congratulations to them.”

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant were once again convincing in the Lightweight Women’s double sculls (LW2x), winning their semi-final to progress to the A final. Watching the Women’s quad win, Emily said: “I had faith in them. We watched them do it last year at the World Championships. We train with those girls, I know they’re hard as nails and I’m glad they proved me right. From a personal point of view, I didn’t know how far I could push my body until Andrew (Randell, Head Coach) came along and wrote a programme and I sat there and said, “I’m sorry, you want me to do what?” and then we did. And it turns out the limit is further than I ever thought. I’m incredibly grateful to both him and Louise (Kingsley, Performance Director) for coming in and really changing things, and making things worthwhile to come back for this Olympiad because it’s been really special so far.”

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George were second in the Men’s pair (M2-) semi final and are also through to the A final. In the Women’s pair (W2-), Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards will race in the B final after finishing the semi final in fifth place.

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Day two also saw the Men’s pair and Lightweight Women’s double win their heats, progressing to semi finals.

The Women’s four (W4-) of Rebecca Shorten, Sam Redgrave, Esme Booth and Helen Glover were dominant in their heat, crossing the line three seconds ahead of New Zealand. Speaking after the race, about competing at her fourth Olympics and fresh from being Team GB flag bearer at the opening ceremony, Helen said: “If you were to transport yourself into the ‘me’ of any start line over the past decade, there’s not much difference. The way I think, the way I feel and act – it’s just me. Whether I’m at my first Olympic Games or I have three children, it just feels like a place where I’m ready to go out and do what I can.

“It’s got to be said that I’m getting pulled down the track by three amazing women, I wouldn’t be here without them. Sam, Esme and Rebecca are phenomenal in their own right, everyone brings something to the crew.

“Carrying the flag gave me an extra boost I didn’t expect. I almost walk that little bit taller and feel a little bit prouder. The Games are predictable, you know what’s going to happen, so that was something I didn’t predict. It’s one of the few things that could be thrown at you that’s not a negative, but a positive. ”

Esme added: “It’s an amazing thing to go out and race with Helen who has so much experience. In training and the lead in she’s helped us tick all the boxes we need to. We felt pretty prepared going out there, we know our race plan and what we want to do. So we felt confident.”

The Men’s four (M4-) was a tight race with Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson finishing in second, behind New Zealand, to take the automatic qualification spot. David said: “We can take a lot of confidence from that heat. Obviously there’s a quick crew out there in the kiwis, and the rest of the world to be honest. But we were happy with it because we feel we’re building through the season step by step. We have work to do and three days to do it, but it’s a positive step and we’re into the final, which is the main thing. Bring on the final on Thursday.”

Imogen Grant described her Lightweight Women’s double sculls (LW2x) heat performance with Emily Craig, as “Calm, controlled and crossed the line first!” The win saw them progress to the semi final on Wednesday. Imogen added: “Our coach Darren (Whiter) said to us this morning ‘Go out and enjoy it,’ and whenever he says that we turn around and go, ‘Well, we’re going to do a bloody good job first and enjoy it afterwards’. I enjoyed it and I enjoyed moving out on the other crews. We’ve had a really good six weeks. Lucerne was a good race for us and it’s exciting to think that we’ve only gotten better since then. We’ve had some really good pieces in training and depending on what conditions are thrown at us, I think we’re ready. We have a huge amount of confidence in ourselves. I can’t think of another crew in the event that has experienced as many different types of races as we have, whatever wind direction or other crews we have to race is always a race we can reference. We can take confidence from past performances.”

Emily said: “We are very process driven and that’s the main thing we focus on. We don’t want to think about what the other crews are doing. All we can do is go as fast as we can from A to B and hopefully that will be faster than the rest of the world.”

Also winning their heat and through to the semi final were Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George in the Men’s pair (M2-). Tom said: “I think we executed our plan pretty well. We knew people would jump out – it’s the Olympics after all, but we stayed calm. We can always be better and I think that’s important and actually a good thing, you don’t want to have the perfect race in the heat and think ‘where do we go from here’ and we earnt the right to relax a little bit in that last 500m and keep it long and loose and take it to the line.”

Ollie added: “We’re happy with our first race. I think if you’ve got to the line first in your heat at the Olympics Games there’s got to be a certain element of confidence. We could be sharper out of the blocks, we want to be dominant in every part of our race and we probably didn’t do that today so we can work on that. Little bits in the last 500m we didn’t have to do today, but it’s nice to have things to work on.”

The Women’s pair (W2-) of Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards missed out on the automatic qualification spots with a fourth place finish. They will race the repechage on Monday. Rebecca said: “We’ve shifted our race plan slightly. We just got it slightly off the beat in the second 500m but I’m already looking forward to tomorrow because I know we can perform well. I’m excited about it.” Chloe added: “It was a bit surreal. Paris has been amazing so far but I’m just excited to see what we can do in the repechage. We’ve had the best training camp ever and haven’t missed a session.”

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Of the 23 women and 19 men, 50% are making their Olympic debut and 50% are returning Olympians. These include double Olympic Champion Helen Glover, Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Tom Barras and Team GB’s only brother and sister, Tom and Emily Ford.

“Team GB has an impressive Olympic tradition in rowing, and I am delighted to welcome the 42 athletes that have been selected today for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” commented Team GB Chef de Mission, Mark England.

“The Olympic experience in this squad is huge, and I have no doubt it will be an asset to the 21 athletes who will make their Olympic debut in Paris this summer. Team GB is also set to include more women than men in the team for a second successive Games and it is fantastic to see two mothers, Helen Glover and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne, named as part of the team today.

“Our rowers have posted some outstanding results this season and I am sure the crews will relish the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of their friends, family, and Team GB fans as they race the Olympic course at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Paris this July.”

Commenting on the team selection, British Rowing Director of Performance Louise Kingsley, who will be Rowing Team Leader in Paris, said: “This Olympic cycle has come with a few challenges along the way, but the athletes, support staff and coaches have really pulled together to create a fantastic atmosphere, culture and training environment that has lead to impressive results on the water. We qualified nine boats at the 2023 World Rowing Championships and added a tenth most recently at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Now, we have selected a very strong team of athletes with a good mix of returning and first-time Olympians who I know are relishing the opportunity to go out there and write a unique chapter in the legacy of the GB Rowing Team.”

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Meet the crews:

Women’s four (W4-)

Photo: Team GB

Double Olympic champion and mum of three, Helen Glover is joined by returning Olympian Rebecca Shorten alongside Esme Booth and Sam Redgrave who are both making their Olympic debuts. This crew formed at the start of the 2024 season and are unbeaten this year having won gold at World Rowing Cup I, World Rowing Cup II and the European Rowing Championships.

Helen said: “Selection for my fourth Games feels different because the first time I still had this disbelief that I was becoming an Olympian! A huge reason for aiming for Paris was thinking how great it will be to have my family there to watch and support me and being able to share all of this with them is so special.

“Our four has a very good mix of Rebecca’s experience and the new energy of Esme and Sam and I do really feel more emotional for them than myself, seeing them enjoy this for the first time and getting their first Olympic vest. I love celebrating other people, so seeing them have this experience today and witnessing them enjoying this for the first time is amazing. I’m so fortunate that I’ve rowed with the most phenomenal people throughout my career… It’s exactly the same here in our four and I’m really enjoying working with them.”

Men’s four (M4-)

Photo: Team GB

The four has medalled at every event this Olympiad (nine gold, one silver, one bronze). Identified as part of the ‘Project Paris’ group in 2020, Oli Wilkes, Matt Aldridge and old school friends, David Ambler and Freddie Davidson will all be making their Olympic debuts in Paris.

Oli said: “It’s very surreal to be selected for our first Games. I never really thought this would be a possibility and it feels so special. It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s a brilliant opportunity. There’s a lot more to a Games, but we want to keep thinking about it as another race, to not get overwhelmed by the occasion and to focus on the job at hand!”

Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)

Photo: Team GB

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant are reuniting for Paris after missing the podium in Tokyo by just 0.01 seconds and only 0.5 seconds off gold. Since then, Emily has kept a print out of that photo finish on her living room wall. Stepping on this cycle, the double are one of only two crews in the World to remain unbeaten this Olympiad. They have the chance to make history by becoming the last ever Olympic medallists in this event.

Emily said: “Double Olympian sounds crazy! Being an Olympian the first time round was something I had dreamt of since I was 12 years old, so going to two Olympics is even more out there! I thought I would be one and done, and here I am back for Paris!”

Men’s pair (M2-)

Photo: Team GB

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George won bronze at the Tokyo games in the Men’s eight. They switched to the Men’s pair after taking a year out to study at Cambridge and compete in the Boat Race. They have been on the podium at every race this cycle (seven gold, three silver, one bronze), won their first championship title at the 2024 European Rowing Championships, and are unbeaten in 2024.

Ollie said: “Last time GB won gold in the pair was Redgrave and Pinsent in 1996 and that was the only gold for Team GB at that Games. That’s when Lottery funding started and that makes it even more special to be in this boat class and to try to emulate what those guys did. It’s nice to have the opportunity to put our little piece of history in the much bigger puzzle that is Team GB.

“For me, having friends and family in Paris will be amazing as it gives them the opportunity to watch and support us in something that will seem almost like a home Games. To share that with them, whatever the result, is something really special.”

Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x)

Photo: Team GB

Hannah Scott returns after racing the quad in Tokyo. She is joined by first time Olympians, Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw, and Lauren Henry. The quad were crowned World and European champions in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Lauren, the youngest athlete in the squad said: “It’s amazing and a dream come true to be selected. I want to thank everyone who has helped to get me to this point, my parents, coaches and teammates. It’s incredible being the youngest in the team. I remember being on a junior training camp and the coach said ‘one of you could still make the Paris team’ and I thought ‘I want that to be me!’, so to actually do it is amazing. I might be the youngest but I know I’m surrounded by a great group of experienced people and am confident in my performance and results. Ultimately, we still have a job to do and want to get a result in Paris that we can be proud of.”

Men’s eight (M8+)

Photo: Team GB

Tokyo bronze medallists Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, James Rudkin and Tom Ford are joined in the eight by returning Olympians Sholto Carnegie and Rory Gibbs. Morgan Bolding was a reserve in Tokyo and will therefore make his Olympic debut along with Tom Digby, and cox, Harry Brightmore. The eight are double European and double World Champions this cycle. They are coached by Men’s eight Sydney 2000 gold medallist, Steve Trapmore.

Tom said: “It’s always amazing to be told you are selected for Team GB. For me, knowing that my sister Emily has also been selected for her second Games (in the Women’s eight) is huge. It’s a really proud moment for our family. Sharing this experience with Emily is just brilliant.”

Women’s eight (W8+)

Photo: Team GB

Heidi Long, Holly Dunford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart and Annie Campbell-Orde are all making their Olympic debuts. Hattie Taylor and Rowan McKellar have switched from the four in Tokyo while Emily Ford is the only returning athlete from the eight in 2020. Cox Henry Fieldman won bronze in the Tokyo GB men’s eight and will make history as the first male to cox a female boat for GB at the Olympic Games.

On making her Olympic debut, Heidi said: “It’s something that myself, my family and friends have been working towards for a very long time, so the fact that it’s here still feels surreal. Everyday I’m trying to keep focussed on rowing and what we are trying to achieve but I also want to enjoy and feel the excitement of all these special moments like being here today and going to kitting out. It takes a village to get to this point and knowing that my friends and family will be in Paris to support the whole team will hopefully inspire and encourage us to have the best time of our lives.”

Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)

Photo: Team GB

Tokyo silver medallist Tom Barras is joined by Olympic debutants Callum Dixon and Matt Haywood. Completing the quad is Graeme Thomas, who raced in the double in Tokyo and was selected for Rio 2016, where he was heartbreakingly taken ill before having a chance to take to the water.

Second-time Olympian, Tom said: “Olympic selection is awesome. It’s a huge moment in an athlete’s life. It’s the build up of so many years of training, hard work and effort. All the miles we put in at training camps, the frustration and the enjoyment, it all culminates in this… selection for the greatest show on earth! Winning the silver in Tokyo was a brilliant, magical experience and I hope we can continue to build on that.”

Women’s pair (W2-)

Photo: Team GB

Switching from the Women’s eight in Tokyo to the pair in Paris are Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards. Chloe’s father, Paul, swam for Team GB at Seoul 1988, while Rebecca’s proudest moment was winning World Cup gold in the Women’s eight in Lucerne in 2023.

Rebecca said: “Selection for a second Olympics is incredible. I always believed I could do it and I’m proud of myself for sticking through the hard times and for enjoying the good times and it’s so rewarding to feel I’ve got to this point. Chloe is my best friend in rowing, we live together, we row together so sharing this with her is pretty special and we are ready for it!”

Women’s double sculls (W2x)

Photo: Team GB

Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne qualified the double for the Games just two weeks ago. Becky joined the senior team this season and has only raced internationally at the 2024 European Championships and the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Mathilda returns from Tokyo having taken time away from the team to have her son, Freddie. Now two, Freddie is enjoying supporting his mother on her Olympic journey.

Mathilda said: “The reality of us qualifying is starting to sink in! I’ve enjoyed the journey this time around and it’s great that my family and son Freddie can come out to Paris to support us. Becky is great to race with because she is fearless and energetic and I feel like we are really bringing out the best in each other.”

Team GB Rowing team

Women’s eight (W8+)

Heidi Long (Leander Club/Marlow RC)
Rowan McKellar (Leander Club/Broxbourne RC)
Holly Dunford (Molesey BC)
Emily Ford (Leander Club)
Lauren Irwin (Leander Club/Durham University/Chester-le-Street ARC)
Eve Stewart (Leander Club)
Hattie Taylor (Leander Club/Sir William Perkins’s School)
Annie Campbell-Orde (Nottingham RC/Leander Club)
Henry Fieldman (cox) (Leander Club)
Coach: Richard Chambers 

Men’s eight (M8+)

Sholto Carnegie (Leander Club/Marlow RC)
Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Jacob Dawson (Leander Club/Plymouth ARC)
Charlie Elwes (Leander Club)
Tom Digby (Oxford Brookes University BC/Griffen BC)
James Rudkin (Newcastle University BC/Hollowell Scullers)
Tom Ford (Leander Club)
Harry Brightmore (cox) (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coach: Steve Trapmore

Women’s four (W4-)

Helen Glover (Marlow RC)
Esme Booth (Leander Club/Stratford upon Avon BC)
Sam Redgrave (Leander Club/Norwich RC)
Rebecca Shorten (Imperial College BC)
Coach: James Harris

Men’s four (M4-)

Oli Wilkes (Oxford Brookes University BC)
David Ambler (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Matt Aldridge (Oxford Brookes University BC/Christchurch RC)
Freddie Davidson (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coaches: Christian Felkel/Dan Moore

Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x)

Lauren Henry (Leicester RC)
Hannah Scott (Bann RC/Leander Club)
Lola Anderson (Leander Club/Newcastle University BC)
Georgie Brayshaw (Leander Club)
Coach: Andrew Randell

Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)

Tom Barras (Burway RC/Leander Club)
Callum Dixon (Twickenham RC)
Matt Haywood (Nottingham RC/Burton Leander RC)
Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC)
Coach: Paul Stannard

Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)

Emily Craig (University of London BC)
Imogen Grant (Cambridge University BC)
Coach: Darren Whiter

Women’s double sculls (W2x)

Becky Wilde (Leander Club/Bath University BC)
Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne (Upper Thames RC)
Coach: Tom Pattichis

Men’s pair (M2-)

Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Leander Club/Cambridge University BC)
Tom George (Leander Club/Cambridge University BC)
Coaches: Christian Felkel/Dan Moore

Women’s pair (W2-)

Chloe Brew (Leander Club/Plymouth ARC)
Rebecca Edwards (Leander Club)
Coach: Tom Pattichis

Reserves

Photo: Team GB

Olivia Bates (Nottinghamshire County RA/University of Nottingham BC)
Lucy Glover (Edinburgh University BC/Warrington RC)
James Robson (Leander Club/Newcastle University BC)
Will Stewart (Leander Club)

Team Management, Coaching and Support staff

Louise Kingsley, Team Leader
Tom Dyson, Deputy Team Leader
Jo Bates, Team Manager
Maurice Hayes, Resources Manager
Andrew Randell, Head Coach – Women
James Harris, Women’s Coach
Darren Whiter, Women’s Coach
Richard Chambers, Women’s Coach
Tom Pattichis, Women’s Coach
Paul Stannard, Head Coach – Men
Dan Moore, Men’s Coach
Steve Trapmore, Men’s Coach
Christian Felkel, Men’s Coach
Ann Redgrave, Team Doctor
Penny Stern, Team Physiotherapist
Emma Stewart, Team Physiotherapist
Gareth Turner, Sports Scientist
Molly Lloyd-Jones, Sports Scientist
Shelley Wyatt, Team GB Press Officer
Paul Cobbett, Regatta Support
John Gearing, Regatta Support
Dan Lockey, Regatta Support

Crew photos: Team GB

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Added to the bronze won on Saturday, the eight medal haul saw GB finish second on the medal table, tied on the number of golds with the Netherlands.

The Women’s four (W4-) of Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten won gold 2.5 seconds ahead of the Dutch World Champions, to maintain their winning streak in 2024. Esme said: “The result here is important, it’s a beautiful event, the scenery is amazing and it’s a great place to come. I think after the Europeans we sat down and put down a few things we wanted to work on, today was a really good chance to put those building blocks into place and have a good run down the track. Winning emotions are amazing, my parents are here and it’s so special to have everyone out here supporting us.”

Helen added: “Lucerne is an amazing regatta in its own right…. This race is just such a special event for our sport. So to be out here, to be racing, to be winning in a nice, more controlled style, is great. We know where we want to get to and to see the pieces falling into place this early in the season is really encouraging, because we do feel like there’s more to come.”

Only two crews in the world remain unbeaten this Olympiad, and one of those is Emily Craig and Imogen Grant in the Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x). The double led their final throughout, despite some initial pressure from New Zealand, and crossed the line with clear water. “We relish the competition,” Emily said, “It’s always great to come down the track – from the first World Cup, the Europeans when I was absent and now we’ve raced everyone who is likely to be in that A Final at the Olympics in two months time, so it’s nice to put a post in the ground. Getting back in the boat is a real testament to the bond that Imo and I have and between us and Darren, our coach. To get through the last few weeks and put out a performance like that. It was not only back to where we were but frankly a step on to where we have been. It feels very special and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve done.”

When asked about their Tokyo result, Imogen said: “I feel like at this point we’ve done the result in Tokyo justice. We came back with a point to prove and we’ve proven it over the last few seasons. The chance at having another crack at the Olympics is very exciting. But in honesty, we just want to be proud of how we row and race and so far that’s come every time we’ve raced together this season. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved over the last few years, it’s such a privilege getting to do this together and regardless of the results in a couple of months time I know I’m going to cross the line in floods of tears because we’ll never get to do it again.”

It was a second World Cup gold in 2024 for Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George in the Men’s pair (M2-), also maintaining their winning streak this season. Ollie said: “It’s nice to be unbeaten. Great.  But we don’t want to dwell on that, we don’t want to stop. We have learnings to take away and there are parts that we know can be better. But we are happy with today and it’s good to get a win on a beautiful lake.”

Tom added: “We were in control and we are happy with that, but we’re never going to stop and be happy with where we’re at. We’ll keep pushing. People keep asking us about expectations and telling us we’re favourites now, it doesn’t really matter. We have a lot of training to do and we want to keep pushing to find more speed.”

GB stormed to victory in the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x) with an emphatic win. The World and European Champion crew of Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw led from the off to finish around 2.5 seconds ahead of Netherlands. Lola said: “You never really want to feel like you’re in control when you’re racing. It’s a process-orientated sport for us and the minute you start feeling relaxed, for us that’s a minute where someone could slip through your fingers. We try to stay internal and by that logic we don’t really notice what’s going on around us. But it’s spicy inside the boat. We never feel sleepy.”

Hannah added: “We’ve started to hear more about the Olympic gold medal that people have been chasing for years, but there’s plenty of people who are just as talented as us and haven’t won it. So it’s definitely about things going right on the day. That’s what’s important for us – we have to keep it focussed out there, the biggest thing for us is progress, that’s what we’ve been doing every day and that’s why we’ve been building through every race. Hopefully we can keep continuing on and building the speed.”

The Men’s eight (M8+) was fast and frantic with the GB crew of Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore taking the upper hand, finishing just 0.20 ahead of the USA who had won the earlier preliminary round. Speaking after the medal ceremony, James said: “I feel pretty tired but that was a really good race for us. Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face and the USA really punched us in the face on Friday. We had our backs against the wall there and turned it around to pull out a race like that today. You train hard to race, we relish racing, we love it, it’s why we do the sport.”

It was silver for Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman in the Women’s eight (W8+). It was an epic race, which saw the GB crew lead from the start, only to be pipped in the final strokes by Canada. Heidi said: “ I think we’ve stepped on a lot in the last few days. What we did really well was we executed what we wanted to do, so if we have a plan for the next eight weeks I think we can really build and be in the mix at the Games.”

The Men’s four (M4-) of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson won bronze behind USA and New Zealand. In a stacked field, Oli said: “Everyone’s come in hungry looking for the big one in Paris.” Freddie added, “We thought that was a good step on from the heat, we’re not over the moon but we’re happy with how we’re progressing and have to keep that going. The next few months will be tough. We’ll come away from this and go up the mountain to training camp, slogging out long miles on the machines and on the water. It’s tough but we are all looking forward to it. It feels like we’re on the up, we need to keep that rolling and not give ourselves a hard time for this result today.”

It was fourth for the Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of John Collins, Callum Dixon, Tom Barras and Graeme Thomas and fifth for the GBR2 Men’s pair (M2-) of Will Stewart and James Robson. Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards placed ninth overall in the Women’s pair (W2-) B final.

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Medals were won across the men’s, women’s and para rowing squads with the Women’s four, Women’s quad, Men’s eight and PR3 Mixed double all winning gold.

It was a win for the Women’s four (W4-) of Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten after a tussle with the Romanians saw the GB crew take and keep the lead from the halfway mark. A buoyant Esme said: “It’s great to be a European Champion. I was just saying I don’t have any sort of championship title yet and now I do! I’m so happy!”

Double Olympic Champion, Helen Glover, winning her first championship title since 2021 added: “It’s what we were after and it’s probably the most composed I’ve felt in any race and that’s saying something. I’ve got a lot of confidence in our crew, I have a sense that we’re still in a learning process. Even mid-race I’m thinking – this is good, we’re learning! With such a new crew, all the races we do this season are significant moments… Varese was important in putting a line in the sand, today’s been a significant moment referencing last year’s Europeans, when Romania went through us in the last 500m, moving onto the next race will be a big learning moment of more nations coming in and people stepping on into the competition. I’m excited we are so new, with so much still to learn.”

Registering their first win as a crew were newly crowned European Champions, Sam Murray and Annie Caddick in the PR3 Mixed double sculls (PR3 Mix 2x). Annie said: “It’s very exciting. There were bits that caught us off guard but we dealt with them well. We thought we’d be in the medals, we didn’t know what colour it would be so it’s an exciting day for us. It’s our first ever win as a crew. To be a European Champion is mad, it hasn’t sunk in yet.” Sam said: “We weren’t sure how we would do but we just trusted our training through the winter and full credit to Annie for putting down a really strong rhythm for us. We’re happy with how we executed it. We know we need to keep improving as we move through the summer but it’s good to start with a win here. We know there’s more there and it’s how we can keep locking it together.”

The Men’s eight (M8+) was a thrilling, high tempo race with the GB crew of Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox Harry Brightmore holding off pressure from the German boat to take the gold. Jacob said: “We knew it was going to be a tough race. The Germans are hungry to right their wrongs from the last few years and it was very clear Romania wanted to make a big push for this Championships, so for us it was all about keeping to our plan and not getting flustered by what anyone else threw at us. It’s never going to be enough until we take the last stroke of the most important race this summer and we are always striving for more… to go quicker.”

James Rudkin added: “We know that people are going to try to challenge us and put on some pressure, which the Germans tried to do. I think we rose to that pressure well and I was happy with how we held them off and pushed on towards the end – so it was a good race. We’re prepared that crews are going to come out for us this season, and we’re ready for that fight and want to take it on and push ourselves to be the best version that we can be. We’re in it to win. We’ve got Harry (cox) there talking us through the race and you feel like you’re one engine, one machine, driving it along. Everyone is doing their own bit to make the boat go as fast as possible and you could really feel that when he called us to push on. It wasn’t one person trying to smack at it more, it was all nine of us giving it everything we’ve got, so we’re happy with that and that’s the strength we’ll need to race fast crews across the season.”

Back to winning ways were Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw in the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x), who topped the podium after a tight race ahead of Ukraine. Hannah said: “We had some teething problems at the start of the season, but we were learning from that and today was a display of the work we’ve put in for the last week and a half since missing out in Varese. I think we’ve always been on this track but that showed the work we put in through the winter and we are almost happier to see that than to see the result. Today was a row we can be familiar and happy with and I’m proud that we delivered under that pressure. It’s another learning for us.” Lauren added: “It makes me really pleased that we’ve taken the disappointment of Varese and turned it around here. It’s nice to be back on top again, on a podium with a gold.”

Benjamin Pritchard won another European bronze medal in the PR1 Men’s single sculls (PR1 M1x), he said: “It’s another bronze medal but I’m working in the right direction in terms of profile, race technique and race craft – learning how to build through a weekend. It’s taken me since 2019 but we’re getting there slowly. I posted a PB in the heats, that shows all the hard work is paying off. It’s good to start faster than I finished last season.”

Narrowly missing out on the podium with fourth place finishes were Olivia Bates and Imogen Grant in Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x) and the Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of Callum Dixon, Tom Barras, Matt Haywood and Graeme Thomas.

George Bourne is into the Men’s single sculls (M1x) final after a thrilling finish in the semi final saw him cross the line in third place. “My finish is something I’ve worked on since World Cup I, it’s not something you always want to test in a race, but it’s a big learning block.” He said, adding, “These opportunities are coming in thick and fast and I’m learning a lot of things. It wasn’t ideally how you’d want to pace a race, but these other guys did a good job in those conditions and I’ll try to learn from them going forward. I knew I had to give everything I had going into the line or I was going to fall short of the A Final. I’m proud to be in it. It’s another step on the way to try and qualify at the final qualification regatta but I’ve got a lot of things to work on. I’ll see what I can bring out of the hat tomorrow.”

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George won their Men’s pair (M2-) semi-final, rowing through Romania at the halfway point and maintaining their lead to finish almost three seconds ahead.

Seb Devereux and John Collins were fifth in the Men’s double sculls (M2x) semi-final and will race again in the B final.

Tomorrow will see seven more crews bid to make the podium here in Hungary. You can follow the action across British Rowing social media channels and the World Rowing website. Racing will also be shown on BBC iPlayer and the BBC website.

Full results and crew lists

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The racing came thick and fast, with crews adding eight medals to the gold won by Olivia Bates in the lightweight women’s single on Saturday. The golds came in the Men’s pair, Lightweight Women’s double, Women’s four and Men’s eight.

It was a one, two in the Women’s four (W4-) with the GBR1 crew of Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten taking gold and the GBR2 crew of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford and Emily Ford taking the silver. The GBR3 crew of Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, Lauren Irwin and Eve Stewart were sixth.

Talking about the GB crews doubling up, Rebecca said: “It’s weird to be racing our teammates at this level, but we do so many pieces side by side that it feels like being back home – with a few extra crews! This regatta has been a good stepping stone, each race we’ve learned that we’ve still got so much more to come!”

Sam added: “I think we’ve been doing well in training and today was a good row. I think we have got that little bit of magic together which is really nice to have this early on. There’s more to come I’m sure!” Helen said: “A gold medal is the best way to start the season!”

Racing just 59 minutes after the Women’s four final, the Women’s eight (W8+) of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman battled through to win silver.

Holly said: “Having two races today was good fun and a good experience. I could definitely feel the first race in the legs in that second race, but it was good to race under those conditions. We had a turnaround of 59 minutes between the women’s four and the women’s eight races, but it’s good to get those races in the legs and still come away with two silver medals! We’ll regroup with the eight and figure out areas of improvement, but it’s definitely a good starting point and we’ll look to build on that as the season progresses.”

It was another World Cup gold medal for the GBR1 Men’s pair (M2-) Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George (GBR1) who haven’t lost a senior race at Lago di Varese. “We’re feeling good.” Tom said, adding: “Obviously it’s the first race in a long time, so we’re happy to get out there, get side by side and race these boys again because it’s a really strong field.” Ollie described the race as “a stepping stone”, saying: “The Europeans is the next big one for us ahead of the next World Rowing Cup and then the Olympics. So we will keep learning and continue to trust ourselves.”

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant were not phased by the drama going on around them in the lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x) final. The Canadian crew caught a crab right off the blocks, but the GB crew won by almost 7 seconds, continuing their winning streak in this Olympiad.

Imogen said: “We saw something at the start but didn’t let it shake our rhythm and just did what we needed to do. Emily added: “I’m glad we’ve sunk our teeth into racing. We’ve been chomping at the bit to get going, it’s nice to come back in with a bang. I feel like we’ve moved on and shown the world a little bit of what we’ve been doing behind the scenes for the last six months.”

The final race of the day saw the Men’s eight (M8+) of Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore win gold. Morgan said: “I think through the winter it’s tough to keep positive about what you’ve done in the past and believe you’ll still be good when you get to your next race. We don’t assume anything but this win gives us a lot of confidence. One good performance is nice to have on the board and there’s certainly more to come!”

The Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of Callum Dixon, Tom Barras, Matt Haywood and Graeme Thomas won silver. Callum said; “That was our best row to date so we’re really happy to come away with a silver medal.”

Graeme said: “For me, 2022 could have been my last race and there were definitely moments in that period that I thought it could be, but here I am. I was a bit emotional on Friday getting the first race under my belt. Once I got over that hurdle we were back to business and I slotted back into the groove. These boys did a great job of facilitating all the little things I needed as I went through rehab, so I’m grateful to them and they did a great job today. Right now we’re taking it one day at a time and just focusing on what we need to do as a crew to improve.”

Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson in the Men’s four (M4-) were pipped on the finish line by Italy to take the silver in a very close finish. David said: “We started well but we felt Italy coming up in the last 500 and they put on an awesome sprint to come through in the last 100. It was great from them and full credit to them for that. I think it’ll be good for us to get onto Europeans quickly. We haven’t had too much racing this season, this is our first side-by-side match up, so it’ll be nice to give ourselves a week to work things out and come back and see where that puts us. I’m looking forward to it.”

George Bourne attacked the Men’s single sculls (M1x) final in a packed field that included the world champion and narrowly missed out on the podium finishing in fourth. Also finishing fourth were Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw in the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x) and Rebecca Edwards and Chloe Brew in the Women’s pair (W2-). The GBR2 Men’s pair (M2-) of Will Stewart and James Robson finished fifth.

Earlier in the day, John Collins and Seb Devereux won the Men’s Double sculls (M2x) B final, placing seventh overall.

Results from Sunday at World Rowing Cup I

Full results

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Since the Delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which saw the double miss the podium in an agonising 0.01 second photo finish, they have been unbeaten, winning back to back World and European titles and every World Cup they have raced at. This season they also achieved a World Best Time of 06:40.47 in the Lightweight Women’s Double at World Rowing Cup II in Varese 2023.

Darren Whiter was nominated in the Coach of the Year category as further recognition of the Lightweight Women’s Double success this season.

Emily said: “It’s an honour to win this award, especially amongst a group of such high calibre nominees. It’s one of those things that you never expect to happen in your career, but it’s encouraging to see our hard work and performances in 2023 rewarded in this way. This season, my favourite race was our final in Lucerne as it was a complete row and felt really satisfying. The Word Best Time in Varese is also up there, as it was so unexpected.

“We came back from Tokyo, stepped up, learnt and matured and I hope we can continue to reap those rewards in the coming year. We’ve got fantastic support staff at British Rowing, whether that be our coaching team, physios and mental health so we have a lot of tools in our arsenal to make sure we can learn and improve as we look ahead to the Paris Games.”

Imogen said: “Being awarded World Rowing Women’s Crew of the Year is so special and it’s such an accolade, especially when you look at the crews that have won it before us. It’s been a massively memorable season after the disappointment of finishing fourth with the tight photo finish in Tokyo. It felt so gratifying to sprint through and win the Varese World Cup the day after we set a World Best Time. It was also a privilege to win the world cup season this year and share that success with Emily. Defending our World title was really special too – and it’s made me even more excited for the coming season!”

“Emily and Imogen winning World Rowing Women’s Crew of the Year is exceptionally exciting and so very well deserved.” Andrew Randell, GB Rowing Team Women’s Olympic Head Coach said, adding, “they have demonstrated a degree of relentless focus and endeavour since Tokyo and haven’t lost a race in two years which is remarkable. The World Rowing Championships was their stand out performance for me – they really are a class act. Huge congratulations to Darren too, for being nominated as coach of the year. Along with our coaches and support staff, he has worked skillfully with Emily and Imogen to turn them into an undefeated crew over the last two years.”

GB were nominated in two other categories: Men’s Crew of the Year for the Men’s Four (M4-) of Oliver Wilkes, David Ambler, Matthew Aldridge, Freddie Davidson and Para Crew of the Year for Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson in the PR2 Mixed Double Sculls (PR2M2x). Both crews enjoyed unbeaten seasons and qualified their boats for the Olympic and Paralympic Games respectively. The PR2 Mixed Double also registered a World Best Time (WBT) of 08:00.57 at the 2023 World Rowing Championships – the third WBT of their debut season racing together.

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GB Rowing currently sits top of the medal table with seven medals in total and have three further A finals to contest tomorrow.

Both the PR2 Mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix2x) and PR3 Mixed coxed four (PR3 Mix4+) won gold in the Paralympic class boats. In the Olympic class boats there was gold for the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x), Lightweight Women’s double (LW2x) and the Men’s four (M4-) a silver in the Men’s pair (M2-) and a bronze in the Women’s four (W4-).

The Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x) of Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw had a real tussle with the Netherlands throughout the 2k course but kept their heads to win GB’s first World gold medal in that boat class since 2010. “It was absolutely amazing,” Lauren said, “We’ve practiced our race plan so many times, and we just executed it down to the wire. It was unbelievable. I’m so grateful to all these girls, they’ve helped me so much this season. It’s my first year on the team and my first World Championships and I can’t believe we’ve just won gold. I was so excited I let go of my blade at the finish! This season I was aiming to get a gold at U23s, so to get a gold at seniors is beyond anything.” Georgie added: “It’s a first senior gold medal for all of us, and to do it today it’s just like all the stars have aligned. We have worked so hard to get to this point, we’ve kept it calm, we lost a blade over the finish line but it doesn’t matter because I’m so proud of everyone!”

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant are now consecutive double World Champions in the Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x), as they continued their unbeaten run since the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. “I don’t have any words to describe how great that was!” Imogen said, “I feel like this whole Olympiad the excitement has been building. It’s an understatement to say how much we’ve improved in the last few months and I’m really excited to see what next season brings!” Emily added: “We missed out on the podium in Tokyo by such a small margin and I have the photo finish printed off, on my living room wall. It’s not a negative reminder anymore it’s more ‘look at how close we were in some incredibly trying circumstances’ and we are now at the point where we’ve had two exceptional seasons together and gained a wealth of experience so that the 6 minutes, 50 seconds of Tokyo 2021, pales into insignificance.”

Another boat celebrating becoming consecutive double World Champions were the Men’s four (M4-) of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson, who pulled away from the pack in the last 500m to win by over 2 seconds. Freddie said: “It was an epic race. We said beforehand, people are going to do crazy things, it’s a World Champs final, you don’t just go off and settle for second or third, so we knew it was going to be hot all the way down the field. I’m just amazed, all of us are, it was an epic crew effort and epic commitment all the way.”

Oli said: “With the unbeaten season that we’ve had I think we felt a lot of pressure coming into this, but at the end of the day if you’ve had a good season you want to finish on a high and we managed to do it. It was an epic row from these three guys in front of me, I felt I could sit back and do my thing while these guys were hauling today. I’m really happy for us.”

Double Paralympic Champion Lauren Rowles and former Royal Engineer Commando Gregg Stevenson won a tight race in the PR2 Mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix 2x), pulling away from China in the final strokes to cross the line first to continue their dominance in this boat class this season. Lauren said: “The China crew are phenomenal athletes. I raced them in Tokyo, they drove us out hard in Tokyo and they’ve driven us out hard here too. We were in the middle of that race and the Chinese started pushing back and we wanted to let them know that this is our day, this is our medal. For me I know they’re going to come out fighting, and that’s what we want! We want good racing, we want a great spectator sport! So for us that was a brilliant race.”

Gregg, celebrating his birthday as well as his first World Championship gold medal said: “I’ve never been in such a tight race, every other race we’ve managed to get out front. But that was something else and I was filled with adrenaline and we stuck at it together. I’m really glad we managed to get the win today.”

The PR3 Mixed coxed four (PR3 Mix4+) of Frankie Allen, Giedre Rakauskaite, Ed Fuller, Morgan Fice-Noyes and cox Erin Kennedy won another gold medal continuing the long running unbeaten status of the boat class. “It feels pretty special to be World Champions again,” Ed said, adding: “ It was special last year, but to be able to come back with a different crew and do exactly what we did last year is phenomenal. It wasn’t very easy out there, the headwind was strong and made quite hard work for us, but at the end of the day it’s about getting your bows across the lines first and that’s what we did.”

Frankie said: “It’s a privilege to be part of such an amazing crew. To qualify the boat for the Paralympics on Monday then topping off the week by winning gold today feels amazing.”

Erin, who has returned to cox the crew after her treatment and recovery from breast cancer said: “It’s been a big year. I remember this time last year I was at home feeling pretty sorry for myself but so proud of the team. I’ve been dreaming of this for a long time and so to be here and to be on the top of the podium with the best team in the world, I couldn’t be happier.”

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George achieved their best World Championship result to date, winning silver in the Men’s pair (M2-). Ollie said: “Some things didn’t go our way today and that’s sport. We want to win, so today feels like a bit of a missed opportunity, but we did well to get that silver medal and we qualified the boat for Paris so from that perspective, I’m pleased.”

The Women’s four (W4-) of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Helen Glover and Rebecca Shorten were a little disappointed with their third place bronze. Rowan said: “It’s not exactly what we were coming here for and I feel like we’ve just missed the mark today. We’ve stepped on in the last six weeks, throughout the regatta and that shows how much we can step on in the next year. It’s definitely made us hungry and I think it will set us up for a really good year.”

The Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of Callum Dixon, George Bourne, Matt Haywood and Tom Barras narrowly missed out on a podium spot in the final strokes of the race to place fourth.

There was excitement earlier in the day with Olympic qualification places still up for grabs. Emily Ford and Esme Booth needed to finish fifth or above in the B final of the Women’s pair (W2-). It was an epic race and they worked their way through the field to finish third (9th overall) to secure Olympic qualification. Emily said: “It’s so exciting to qualify the pair and we could become the first British women to double up and qualify two boats if we get within the top five in the eight tomorrow. It would be awesome to make some history and we’re one step closer to that!” When asked about doubling up and the number of races across the regatta, Esme commented: “The sunglasses are hiding a few sins there! It’s one of the hardest races I think we’ve ever done, we just kept going earlier and earlier, we just wanted to get that bow ball ahead. Everyone says that qualification regattas are so hard and that was BIG!”

You can follow the World Rowing Championships live across British Rowing social media channels, here on our World Rowing Championships hub and on the . The BBC will be covering tomorrow’s racing as follows:

• All finals on BBC iPlayer live from 12pm (commentary from Katie Smith and James Cracknell)
• Highlights on BBC2 at 3pm (with Matthew Pinsent and Katherine Grainger in the studio).

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Results from Day Seven finals at 2023 World Rowing Championships

Photos: Benedict Tufnell.

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