Olympic champion Alex Gregory, who became a dad for the second time overnight, was part of the GB Rowing Team men's eight who qualified stylishly for Sunday's finals at the World Championships in Chungju, Korea.
They won their heat today in 5:32.77 to progress along with the USA. Today's performance was a big step on from the way they raced at the season's final world cup in Lucerne and underlined the benefit all the GB crews have gained from their summer's training camps.
Will Satch, racing in his first world championships, is stroking the boat in Chungju and was clearly pleased with the performance today. "It was really good today, we have buttoned down something we have done in training. Now we've got to focus on the final".
Dan Ritchie, who narrowly missed racing in this boat class at the Olympics last year through injury said: "We did a really good job today but it's not over yet. We might have bragging rights over the USA in the teams' hotel tonight but it is all about the final".
Sam Scrimgeour and Mark Aldred, the lightweight men's pair, have also reached the final here by dint of second place behind Italy in today's lightweight men's pair heats in which the two crews exchanged the lead several times before Italy got the verdict by two-tenths.
Vicky Meyer-Laker and Frances Houghton looked confident in winning their heat of the women's double scull to reach the semis and the lightweight men's four are also through to the same stage after a tough heat today.
Another eye-catching men's performance came from Matt Langridge and Bill Lucas in the men's double scull. They beat event favourites, New Zealand in their heat to qualify for the semis.
Second chances await in the repechages of the women's single and women's eight as both boats were third today in races where only two qualify. There was a touch of cruelty today in the way that Vicky Thornley was caught in the dying strokes today after holding second place until the final 100m.
The women's eight were coming back on Australia, who took the second qualifying slot behind the USA, but just left themselves a too tall task after a slowish first half.
Sir David Tanner, Performance Director of the GB Rowing Team said: "I am pleased with the team's heat results so far - with Tom Aggar still to come - it has been a step up since Lucerne [the final world cup of the season] and we are now in a good position to challenge for places in the A finals. That will be tough as always".
The event is being televised by BBC TV in the UK:
Saturday 31st August
07.00 - 09.00 on the red button and website;
15.00 - 16.30 highlights show on BBC One
Sunday 1st September
07.00 - 09.00 on the red button and website;
15.00 - 16.30 highlights show on BBC Two
RACE REPORTS
Mark Aldred, who is from Putney but learnt to row at Cambridge and Sam Scrimgeour, who lives in Barnes but is from Forfar originally, became the first GB Rowing Team crew to qualify from a heat into a World Championships final when they were second in today's lightweight men's pair second heat.
The duo played cat and mouse from the outset with Italy's hugely experienced Elia Luini and Martino Goretti. The Italians got the better first 10 strokes before GB settled into a rhythm and pulled ahead at 500m only for the Italians to surge back on them before GB had the lead which they held until the final few metres. Victory to the Italians by two-tenths but with all to play for now in the final.
Matt Langridge, from Cheshire, and Devonian Bill Lucas were next on the course for GB, under blue skies and rising temperatures - unlike the hazy humidity of the two previous days - and they created a sizzle of their own for the British supporters.
They got a good start and gradually moved out into a lead and despite several bites at their heals from the New Zealanders then went onto win. The victory will have given them confidence, even if the Kiwi double of Robert Manson and Michael Arms had some juice left in the tank, as they went down to the Antipodeans at Eton Dorney and at Henley Royal Regatta.
"I think we are still a work in progress. It's always disappointing when you come in and you are not at the top straight away. in a season. But I have been doing this for a long time and I know sometimes you have to be patient. We have had a good training camp, we changed the order - so this is the first race in that order - and we he have been working hard with Mark Banks, our coach. It's going well but that was only a heat today".
Lucas added: "We expected the Kiwis to be there but we like to do our own thing and are happy to get a good race in".
The equivalent women's boat featuring Frances Houghton, the veteran Olympian, and relative newcomer Vicky Meyer-Laker, went out strongly, rowed with confidence and won their opening heat to move into the semi-finals. They will have been boosted by seeing New Zealand in their wake after losing to them twice this year at world cup level.
By contrast the lightweight men's four heat which involved GB's Jonno Clegg, Will Fletcher, Chris Bartley and Adam Freeman Pask was a more edgy affair - as usual in this boat class. The New Zealand quartet went out into the lead but GB tracked them and made sure the rest of the field were kept at bay.
Will Fletcher said: "That was a good start. It was a good way to get the regatta underway and to have a close race with the Danes".
Jonno Clegg said: "They really want to put on a good show here. This course is on a par with the Olympic Games venues if not better. It is a privilege to be racing here and to see that developing rowing nations also want to host events like this".
Vicky Thornley came so agonisingly close, in the quickest heat of the day, to making direct progress to the semi-finals of the women's single scull - in the first year of going solo after time spent previoulsy in crew sweep and sculling boats. She was second for the majority of the race, enough to book a place, but was caught in the dying 15 strokes. Third place but with the chance to get back on track through the repechage system.
The GB men's eight were quick off the start and had built a half length lead by 500m over France and then the USA. With the crew now stroked by Will Satch and the sun beating on their backs the crew had two second on the nearest challengers by halfway.
America, of course, won the final at the last world cup in Lucerne and there was a sense that the psychology of this race was important. Behind the leaders Italy were two lengths down.
In the final 500m the GB crew kept their shape and style and rowed onwards to the win in 5:32.77. The USA, with a sliver of an overlap took second and France went to the repechage, again by a small margin, in third place. A great way to celebrate for new dad Alex Gregory, whose wife gave birth to a baby daughter back in the UK overnight.
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