ALEX GREGORY and Pete Reed added British Rowing Championship gold to their Olympic titles at Nottingham on Sunday – but not in the way they were expecting.

Gusts of up to 40mph at Holme Pierrepont meant the championships had to be cut short after the morning's time trials, in which the Gloucester rowers – along with Chris Bartley, Richard Chambers, Matthew Gotrel, Phelan Hill, Matt Langridge, Adam Neill and cox Edward – had helped Leander A set the fastest time in the men's eight.

Gregory, from Wormington, said: "It felt good – there was real excitement in the crew. In those conditions you never know what is going to happen, the re is brinkmanship as well as racing so it makes it a little more exciting.

"I've really enjoyed the weekend. It's good for us international athletes to get to mix with the club rowers, we get so little opportunity to even go back to our clubs and chat to the young guys aspiring to be internationals.

"It's a great opportunity to be outside our GB bubble and get back to what rowing is all about. That's the whole idea behind this event, I think, to broaden the sport.

"It also gives people the chance to see that getting to the top is not out of reach – it's not so long ago that I was desperately trying and failing to get through the trial system to get in the GB team."