Great Britain’s rowing team enjoyed six heat wins to kick off the World Championships in Amsterdam, including a commanding performance from London 2012’s golden pair Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.
Glover and Stanning sped away by the 100m mark to win their women’s pair heat ahead of Ireland and Russia.
“It was great to get off to a good start,” said Glover. "There were a few gusts but it didn't bother us too much in our lane.”
The men’s four of Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Andrew Triggs Hodge, who are all Olympic medallists, also secured safe passage from their heats, and now have a semi-final to look forward to on Thursday.
And Gregory insists he has plenty more left in the tank as he searches for a fourth World Championship gold medal.
"From my seat in the boat it felt great,” he said. “I feel the fittest I have ever been and more ready to race than ever. There is more juice in the legs to come.
“It was all about concentrating on making powerful strokes under the water and to put into race practice what we have been doing in training and then see where that got us.”
Elsewhere, London 2012 medallists James Foad and Matt Langridge triumphed in their men’s pair heat, while Graeme Thomas, Sam Townsend, Charles Cousins and Peter Lambert nosed Poland on the line in the men’s quadruple scull.
In the lightweight double scull, Kat Copeland and Imogen Walsh also fought off Poland to reach the semi-finals, and Vicky Thornley was second only to Olympic champion Mirka Knapkova in her single scull heat.
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