18 weeks after under-going shoulder surgery Rachel Morris led a GB Rowing Team charge into the World finals in France today as three more boats qualified for Rio quota places.
The GB Rowing Team built on the morning's Olympic and international class successful repechage and quarter-final performances to qualify the boats via two semi-finals wins, including one from Morris, and a third place.
Morris, until three years ago a para-cycling exponent, was first in action and showed a huge turn of speed and power to win her arms-shoulders singe scull semi-final in 5:25.06. At the line she had a margin of over three seconds on Norway's Birgit Skarstein in second with Italy's Eleonara De Paolis in third.
"I am really pleased with that. 18 weeks ago I had shoulder surgery so the aim here has always been to qualify the boat of the Games. I haven't let myself think at all about the final as I din't know what I could do in a race setting. It is brilliant to get into the final and for all the other boats to be there too. A full house!".
Morris was followed by Tom Aggar, an early-adopter of Paralympic rowing - Games sport since 2008 - who has multiple World titles and a Paralympic gold from those Beijing Games - already to his name in the equivalent men's category.
Aggar was drawn alongside the man who beat him in the 2014 World final, Erik Horrie of Australia. Both, though, were left in the wake of Rene Pereira of Brazil in the opening 300m before Horrie moved into the lead with Pereira second and Igor Bondar of the Ukraine in third.
With only three spots available for the final, the pressure was on Aggar to produce a good second half. Pereira paid for his early pace and was overtaken by Bondar, eventually second to Horrie. Aggar gritted his teeth, dug in and hauled himself stroke by stroke past the Brazilian to snatch the all important final qualifying place.
"Erik has been putting in some fast times all year and he's quick here. I knew it would be hard to overturn him. I'm pleased to have qualified for Rio and I'm looking forward to the final and I'm in good shape", said Aggar.
The mixed coxed four produced the finale of the day by blazing out a win in 3:22.89 from Italy in second and the Ukraine in third. Grace Clough, Dan Brown, Pamela Relph, James Fox and cox Oliver James got their noses in front within 150m and added to that lead all the way down the course to win by almost six seconds.
Cox James said: "I told them to keep rowing away and put as much distance as we could over the others in the first 500m".
Brown said: "We can take confidence from that. We were quick off the start and kept the pace up in the second half".
Clough said: "You never know what is going to happen at a World Championships. It is the qualifying regatta too. Anyone can do anything. I think today we showed that we train hard every day and we showed everyone exactly what can be done with that training".
Paralympic Champion Relph explained that, despite the World title and the wins earlier this season, the four is not complacent: "We always come into a competition thinking people will turn up and challenge us but we have experience and can fall back on it. We are looking forward to tomorrow to see what we can do".
All three boats now join Laurence Whiteley and Lauren Rowles who qualified into the mixed double scull final yesterday by way of winning their repechage.