ROWING siblings Tom and Emily Ford - former students of The Grange School in Hartford - both boosted their hopes for the Olympics by winning medals at the European Championships.

A bronze medallist at Tokyo 2020, Tom is the powerhouse in the stroke seat of GB’s world-beating men’s eight.

Ford joined forces with Sholto Carnegie, Jacob Dawson, Morgan Bolding, Charles Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Rory Gibbs and Chester-born coxswain Harry Brightmore for yet another gold in Szeged, Hungary.

But Dawson underlines that it will all count for naught unless they cross the line first in the French capital.

"It's never going to be enough until we take the last stroke of the most important race of the summer," he said.

"We're always striving for more and striving to go quicker.

"We've got to believe, if we're not striving to win then what's the point in doing this."

Ford formed a crucial part of the GB women’s eight that engaged in a titanic tussle with Romania.

She combined with Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Holly Dunford, Harriet Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde and coxswain Henry Fieldman to reach the podium.

In a fierce headwind, the British eight led for the first half of the race but reigning champions Romania surged past them to take victory by just over 3 seconds. The British crew were 2.5 secs clear of Italy who won bronze.

“We got off to a really good start and into a good rhythm,” said Stewart. “But we couldn’t hold them off and that’s not what you want. We’re learning every race and moving it on.

“We were in front of Italy this time and they pipped us in the last race. We’re happy with what we’ve done but definitely hungry for more.”

The GB Rowing Team enjoyed a fantastic weekend overall and finished top of the medal table with eight golds, one silver and one bronze.

The siblings will race once more before the Olympics at the World Cup in Lucerne in May.

British Rowing is the governing body for the sport and is responsible for the development of rowing in England and the training and selection of rowers to represent Great Britain. The GB Rowing Team is supported by the National Lottery Sports Fund. To find out more, and to follow the team, head to https://britishrowing.org/