Leander athletes added to GB Olympic squad

FOUR more Leander athletes have been announced for the GB Rowing Team going to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Al Sinclair and Stewart Innes will compete in the men’s pairs, while Vicky Thornley’s partnership with Katherine Grainger in the double scull has also been confirmed for Rio. Vicki Meyer-Lake has also been added to the squad as the women’s sweep spare.

The final test for Sinclair and Innes came during the third and final World Cup regatta of the season last month in Poznan when the two men went head-to-head with Matt Tarrant of Oxford Brookes and Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell of University of London.

The Leander duo had taken the silver medal at the European Championships earlier in the season, but Tarrant and Reilly-O’Donnell proved they were still in contention with the bronze medal in Lucerne three weeks later. But when Sinclair and Innes crossed the line ahead of the Brookes/Univeristy of London combination in Poznan it meant that the selection battle had finally been won.

Speaking of the selection Innes said: “Everything has hung in the balance for the last few months and finally being selected to race the men’s pair for Team GB in Rio is a dream come true. The feelings of elation and relief are overwhelming. We now have a big job in front of us and look forward to the challenge.” Thornley’s on-off partnership with Olympic champion Grainger had hung in the balance following a lacklustre performance at the Europeans. Despite missing Lucerne the double were back in action at Poznan where they finished in fifth place, and the announcement of their selection completes the GB team for Rio.