Penzance's Olympic gold medal winning rower Helen Glover, was a shock victor in the unfamiliar discipline of single sculling at the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials at Caversham at the weekend.
She out-gunned sculling specialist Frances Houghton to take the women's single title by a whisker.
Glover led early and held off a strong challenge from Houghton, twice an Olympic quadruple scull medallist, in the final 250m of the race.
"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 during which all the top women and lightweights competed in single sculls whereas the top open weight men were divided between singles and men's pairs.
Glover led this race on the inside lane for the majority of its passage. She had over a length on Houghton, in the centre lane, at 1500m gone but constantly glanced across to gauge Houghton's progress. The contrast in styles was marked with Houghton using her long limbs to row in a smooth, steady rhythm whilst Glover seemed more clipped but powerful.
Behind them Vicky Thornley mounted a challenge with Louisa Reeve in contention, too. Gradually it became a two-horse race at the front. Houghton ate back into Glover's lead stroke by stroke until the final 100m when Glover seemed determined not to let her back through taking the verdict by just over two tenths of a second in 7:32.82.
Torpoint's Daniel Clift, now a member of the GB Rowing Team's Start Programme, which previously identified Helen Glover as a potential champion, was 15th in the men's single scull.
He competed in the event which produced the shock of the weekend when Cambridge's Charles Cousins beat Olympic bronze medallist and single scull specialist Alan Campbell.
The results will provide interesting material for the Chief Coaches and Performance Director in the coming weeks as seat-racing and crew formation takes place.
"We have had some great racing today and it is very healthy to see some new blood challenging for top places in the finals", said Sir David Tanner, GB Rowing Team's Performance Director.
"We have Rio in our sights but this season will be important to lay down a base for the next three years as well as some experimentation with new boat mixes.
"Over the next few weeks we will be forming our boats for the next world cup on home waters in late June at Dorney".
