15 August: When Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase won their semifinal of the lightweight doubles it was not only the first time that Britain had qualified lightweight boats for the Olympic finals – it meant that all fifteen Leander athletes in Beijing had reached the final opportunity to challenge for Olympic medals.
Hunter and Purchase won their race by leading from start to finish and crossed the line ahead of Italy and Cuba. After 500m they already had a two-thirds length lead ahead of the field, and at halfway the margin was a clear two seconds. The British double was looking strong and technically effective but when Italy launched their final assault they could only narrow the GB lead to two-thirds of a length. Hunter and his partner now go into Sunday’s final having been unbeaten all season.
"Today we used our strength and skill to get in front and keep it long and strong and we could ease up at the end" said Hunter.
Britain’s second lightweight success of the day came when the world champion lightweight men’s four also qualified for their final. James Clarke, James Lindsay-Fynn, Paul Mattick and Richard Chambers led the race out from the start to make their qualifying slot safe but paid the price in the final 500m and crossed the line in third place behind Denmark and France.
Team GB's lightweight women's double scull of Hester Goodsell and Helen Casey, coached by Leander’s Rob Morgan, could not find the pace they needed to get in the top three of their semi-final and will now contest the B final on Saturday.
13 August: The GB men’s four of Steve Williams, Pete Reed, Andy Triggs-Hodge, and Tom James put themselves right in the frame for a medal-winning performance when they beat Australia and France to the line in their semifinal.
They will be joined in Saturday’s finals by Leander’s Matt Wells and Steve Rowbotham in the men’s double, who finished third behind France and Estonia to clinch qualification.
In the men’s singles Tideway Scullers’ Alan Campbell unleashed his trademark finish to storm past world champion Mahe Drysdale and take second place behind Ondre Synek of the Czech Republic. Campbell becomes the first British sculler to contest an Olympic final since Hugh Matheson in 1980.
In the final race of the day the GB women’s eight, stroked by Leander’s Katie Greves, came from behind to finish third in their repechage and become the first British women’s eight ever to qualify for an Olympic final.
France were the early leaders in the fours’ semi before the British four squeezed ahead as the second half unfolded. The storming pace of the fours’ semi mean that just over a length separated all six crews entering the last 250m and in a burst for the line the GB men held on to thread as Australia cut through the pack to take second place ahead of the flagging French. The New Zealand world champions failed to make the cut, and in the second semifinal neither Italy nor the Netherlands – silver and bronze last year - made the Olympic final.
"That was a good race today but we're not getting carried away", said Leander’s captain, the 2004 Olympic champion Steve Williams.
"I'm so pleased to be going into the final strong and with these guys", added Pete Reed.
The men's double scull semi-final was always going to be close as it included France and Estonia, who took silver and bronze last year ahead of the GB double of Wells and Rowbotham.
But third place in their race was disappointing for the Leander men, despite qualifying for the final.
"We haven't had our best race yet. So now we need to produce it in the final even if we have to do it from an outside lane", said Matt Wells.
"It was close at the end. I think they've been learning how to race us. But we're in the final and we'll just have to sneak up the outside lane and surprise them", said Rowbotham.
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