TWO Bridgewater High School pupils are officially the third fastest double act in their age group in the country.

Warrington Rowing Club's Lucy Fontana and Eva Karalius clinched third place for the north west in the National Junior Inter Regional Regatta which was held at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham on Saturday.

The Year 10 students' performance also contributed to the north west finishing third overall - the fastest region outside of London.

Quin Dunne, one of their coaches, said: "Eva and Lucy showed great composure in both of their races, racing in very difficult headwind conditions.

"As their coach I’m very proud of how professional they were leading up to and during the races."

After competing in North West Time Trials, Fontana and Karalius were selected to represent the region as a double crew in the WJ15 category at an event featuring the 12 British Rowing regions' fastest performers to compete against each other.

In the first race which ran as a time trial, the Warrington duo were the second fastest boat out of the 12 in the event, which qualified them for the A final.

And then in the final they crossed the line less than a second behind the second-place crew, to come home with bronze medals!

Parents and coaches say they are so proud of how hard the girls have worked over the past few months to get this result and their commitment to the training needed to achieve this success.

Their coaches at Warrington Rowing Club have also worked hard to support them.

Long-standing coach, director and vice chairman of Warrington Rowing Club, Richard Sinnott, said: "It’s great to see this new wave of youngsters making their mark at national level.

"Warrington Rowing Club have a reputation for producing talented athletes. This is another example and they join a long list of very successful athletes.”

At Bridgewater High School, Fontana and Karalius are supported by the Academy Sports Plus Programme run by the school to help elite athletes balance their training with school work.