LUCY Glover has produced a stunning gold-medal success with her Great Britain crew at the World Under 23s Rowing Championships in Bulgaria.

The 18-year-old Warrington Rowing Club ace was in the stroke seat as GB took an early lead and never let go in the women's quadruple sculls final to beat second-placed Australia and then Germany over the finish line.

It is a remarkable and historic achievement for an athlete still eligible to compete at junior level.


Her Warrington coach Richard Sinnott says the gold medal is nothing less than the Lymm High School sixth-form student deserves.

"It makes her dream come true," he said.

"She is Warrington's first rower to win a world title while still representing the club. I know how hard she has worked and I take my hat off to her.

"It has been a long and sometimes dark road but she always did what was asked of her and usually a little bit more!

"She will garner lots of praise and accolades, trust me she deserves them."

Glover, Tideway Scullers’ Saskia Budgett, Nottingham's Anna Thornton and University of London's Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne - a replacement from the heats for Nottingham's Kyra Edwards - finished almost two seconds clear in Plovdiv, clocking 06:22.870 to finish ahead of Australia (06:24.700) and Germany (06:25.360).

They had qualified fastest after finishing ahead of Australia, Holland, Poland and New Zealand in their heat in midweek.