Henry leads GB rowing gold rush at European Championships

On the final day of the Bulgarian European Rowing Championships, Great Britain won five gold medals, propelling it to the top of the medal standings.

In her first senior international regatta, Lauren Henry, a reigning Olympic champion in the quadruple sculls, won gold.

Without Henry in the boat, the new-look GB crew defended their European title in Plovdiv, and the women’s quadruple sculls dominated in the sport.

Britain also won the first-ever men’s quadruple sculls gold, while the men’s and women’s boats both won gold in the eights, increasing GB’s total medal tally to six gold, silver, and two bronze medals.

After beating her British record in the final on Sunday, Henry, 23, said, “It’s very, very special.

I feel like I accomplished that by coming here and making a name for myself.

I want to be the most successful British single sculler ever, world champion, Olympic champion, and world record holder. That’s my goal. Watch this space as I get closer to the end of the year.

The British team won four medals on Saturday, following the gold rush on Sunday.

Sam Murray and Annie Caddick took silver in the PR3 mixed double, while Paralympic champion Benjamin Pritchard won the PR1 men’s single sculls in a new world-record eight minutes 40.38 seconds.