TWO Reading Rowing Club stars won silver medals at the Junior World Championships in Rotterdam recently.

Annabel Stevens and Sheyi Blackett were joined in the GB Women’s quad by Lola Anderson and Lucy Glover, and they dominated both their heat and semi-final before producing a fantastic effort to take the silver medal behind China in a dramatic final.

Germany got off to a strong start and were half-a-length up on Britain and China at the 1,300m mark when disaster struck, with a massive boat-stopping crab sending the leaders to the back of the field.

It was now a two-horse race for the gold medal, with both China and GB cranking up their stroke rate. It was a tremendous battle but China just had the edge and went on to take gold by half a length.

The British quad were delighted and Blackett said: “It was probably the worst conditions I have raced in but the best race of my life. The girls were absolutely amazing and I am so proud.

“I didn’t know what was happening out there! The Germans lost a blade in the lane next to us and we knew that was our moment to really go for it. From that point on we didn’t stop pushing.”

Stevens added: “It’s brilliant to get silver, I can hardly believe it! I was sat at bow so I saw a huge splash of water [when the German quad crabbed].”