WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

POLLY Swann and Helen Glover secured the only women’s gold of the regatta for Great Britain & Northern Ireland.

Swann, of Henley’s Leander Club, and Glover won the women’s pairs title by eight seconds.

“I really couldn’t quite believe it,” said Swann.

“It feels fantastic to be world champions. You just have to believe in yourself.

“I think we raced that pretty well and put in a few good pushes when it mattered.”

Fran Houghton, from Wheatley, and teammate Vicky Meyer-Laker, finished fourth in the women’s double sculls final after being unable to hold off Belarus “We ran out of steam,” said Houghton.

“We really put ourselves out there and we just didn’t have that for the whole of the 2k.

“We did everything that we said we wanted to do and that wasn’t possible for the whole seven minutes.”

Fourth was also where the women’s eight, stroked by Oxford’s Olivia Carnegie-Brown, finished.

“Today we went for it, changed the seat order, changed the plan and went out there and gave it our everything and we didn’t win a medal but we did move up a place on the rankings,” said Carnegie-Brown.

Oxford’s Kathryn Twyman and Imogen Walsh were fourth in the lightweight women’s double sculls final.

“I think we have come a long way this season and even since the last world cup in Lucerne,” said Twyman.