PETER REED, the double Olympic champion, had to pull out of the GB Rowing Team Senior Time Trials on finals day at Caversham with bronchial problems.

Reed, a former Cirencester Deer Park pupil, had been below his best the previous day in qualifying for the final and withdrew on medical grounds.

His place alongside partner Will Satch in the pairs was taken by Mat Tarrant of Oxford Brookes and the new pairing finished fifth.

Another Olympic champion, Alex Gregory from Wormington, did triumph with his men's pair partner Moe Sbihi – but only after a scare.

Gregory and Sbihi were quick off the start in their final and seemed set for a comfortable victory until another successful Olympian, Molesey's Andrew Triggs Hodge and George Nash, edged back to gain an overlap with 500m to go.

For a few seconds, with 250m to go, the Hodge-Nash bow ball seemed to move ahead before Gregory and Sbihi – a Leander-Molesey combination – responded to win.