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.
Germany and Great Britain congratulate each other after a great race in the BW4x. #WRU23Champs pic.twitter.com/E61lXRKcYj
— World Rowing (@WorldRowing) July 22, 2017
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.
🚩: Women's quad - it was down to the line for silver, AUS just over GER. GBR leading. Results: https://t.co/YVjKdmq8yF pic.twitter.com/OBFbuLblcv
— World Rowing (@WorldRowing) July 22, 2017
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