Nick Beighton and Sam Scowen have become Great Britain's first rowing crew to qualify for the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Duo on target for London 2012
Nick Beighton and Sam Scowen have become Great Britain's first rowing crew to qualify for the 2012 Paralympic Games.
They booked a place in the mixed adaptive double rowing event by finishing second to Australia in the repechage at the World Championships in Slovenia, earning them an overall top-eight finish.
Beighton, a captain in the British Army, said: "It's a big relief to qualify for the Games. That has been our target here all along."
Britain's quadruple scull crew failed to reach the final of their event on Lake Bled, with Mel Wilson, Beth Rodford, Annabel Vernon and Debbie Flood now needing to win Thursday's B final to book an Olympic Games place.
They finished behind the United States and China in the repechage and must pick themselves up for a crucial race in two days' time.
Margins
Vernon said: "That's sport, you've got to be on the right side of those margins when it counts.
"We have no-one to blame but ourselves. It wasn't our worst rowing today but it wasn't our best either."
GB performance director David Tanner added: "It's a surprise that our women's quad are not in the final.
"They were certainly capable of it. They have been on the wrong side of two very tight finishes here in both the heat and the semis and it shows how strong the fields are here in Bled."
