Rowers Glover and Stanning shine

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning are on course to make history for Great Britain at the Olympics after winning a third consecutive Rowing World Cup gold medal.

The victorious pair have dominated the three-regatta series and will head into London 2012 in 40 days' time as favourites to become Britain's first-ever female Olympic rowing champions.

It is Britain's women who are are carrying the flag to Eton Dorney, with the world champion double scull of Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins now unbeaten in 21 races. They saw off their Australian rivals to win gold by a length and sign off their competitive Olympic preparations with a commanding result.

Britain won a total of eight medals in Munich, three more than at the second regatta in Lucerne, and it was enough to secure the overall World Cup title.

The men's lightweight four of Richard and Peter Chambers, Rob Williams and Chris Bartley also claimed gold with a performance described by GB Rowing performance director David Tanner as "sensational".

But elsewhere across the team there was disappointment with the men's four - Britain's flagship heavyweight crew - forced to accept silver after losing out to Australia.

Half of Britain's medal tally was bronze, which included an encouraging performance from the women's quad of Melanie Wilson, Debbie Flood, Frances Houghton and Beth Rodford.

But Alan Campbell was expected to do better than bronze in the men's single scull with world champion Mahe Drysdale and Ondrej Synek both absent, as were the men's eight given main rivals Germany were not competing.

The women's eight also only managed third when two of their chief rivals - the United States crew unbeaten since 2006 and Canada - opted out of racing in Munich.

There are concerns over Britain's lightweight men's double of Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase - the reigning Olympic and world champions - who are struggling badly and finished last in the A final for the second World Cup running.