Team GB firing as Olympic rowing resumes in Rio
By Paul Vinnell
Last Updated: 08/08/16 4:47pm
The Olympic rowing competition has resumed after being postponed on Sunday because of strong winds - and Team GB have made a flying start.
The weather had caused problems on Saturday when the Serbia pair of Milos Vasic and Nenad Bedik capsized during their men's semi-final.
But the winds had died down sufficiently on Monday for the rowers to resume battle.
Great Britain's defending Olympic pairs champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning - who were unbeaten in 36 races - dramatically nicked first place on the line from Denmark to reach the semi-finals. The Danes led for most of the race, before being overhauled by the British pair, who then had to hold off a dramatic comeback from their rivals to take first place.
First up in the morning session was the men's quadruple sculls team of Jack Beaumont, Sam Townsend, Angus Groom and Peter Lambert - they finished second in their heat behind Germany to qualify for Wednesday's final.
They were followed by the women's eight achieving the same feat, winning their heat in six minutes 9.52secs.
The men's eight made it a hat-trick of finalists at the start of the third day of rowing, comfortably winning their heat in 5:34.23.
Lightweight double sculls pair William Fletcher and Richard Chambers qualified for the next round by finishing second in their heat behind South Africa.
Defending Olympic champion Katherine Copeland and Charlotte Taylor however endured a chastening morning as they crossed the line last in their women's lightweight double sculls heat, although the repechage offers a reprieve.
That is the route Jonathan Walton and John Collins took to the semi-finals, winning their men's double sculls repechage in 6:19.60.
