Helen Glover pulled off a shock win at the Great Britain Rowing Team senior trials at Caversham today with victory in the unfamiliar discipline of single sculling.
The Minerva Bath rower, who won gold at London 2012 with Heather Stanning in the women's pair, held onto an early lead despite a strong challenge in the final 250m from twice Olympic quadruple scull silver medallist Frances Houghton. Fellow Bath rower Vicky Thornley finished third.
"In that final 100m I just shut my eyes and went for it as I knew that Fran has a good sprint finish," said Glover whose margin of victory was the narrowest of the day.
Glover led the majority of the race from the inside lane and had more than a length's lead on Houghton at the 1,500m mark and it gradually became a two-horse race at the front.
Houghton ate back into Glover's lead stroke by stroke until the final 100m but the Bath rower was determined not to let her back through, taking victory by just over two tenths of a second in 7:32.82.
University of Bath graduate Adam Freeman-Pask finished as runner-up in the lightweight men's single scull, splitting brothers Peter and Richard Chambers in first and third respectively.
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