NI brothers target rowing glory at London 2012

On Tuesday the Coleraine-born brothers Peter and Richard Chambers helped power Team GB’s lightweight men’s four into today’s final and a shot at gold.

After following up their success at last month’s Munich World Cup regatta with two confident victories at Eton Dorney, the lightweight four have emerged as strong title contenders.

The Chambers brothers, Chris Bartley and Rob Williams, unleashed a powerful sprint for the line to surge clear of Switzerland in the final 500 metres.

The British crew won in five minutes 59.68 seconds, just quicker than the time posted by chief gold medal rivals Denmark in winning the second semi-final.

Under the radar

The lightweight four have been happy to exist under the radar and allow the likes of Katherine Grainger and Greg Searle to dominate the attention.

But they are quickly emerging into the spotlight. The crew won bronze at last year’s World Championships and rounded off a successful World Cup campaign with gold in Munich last month.

We are very proud to be from Coleraine… The support has been incredible. We just hope they enjoy what we are doing. Peter Chambers

That triumph was described by GB Rowing performance director David Tanner as “sensational” – but there could be better to come in Thursday’s final.

Denmark are seen as their key rivals but the victory over Australia in the heat and in Munich convinces Peter Chambers they can spark the mother of all parties in Coleraine, with fellow countryman Alan Campbell competing in Friday’s single sculls final

“All three of us are very proud to be representing Coleraine,” Chambers said. “We are very proud to be from there. The support has been incredible. We just hope they enjoy what we are doing.”

After producing the fastest performance to qualify for Wednesday’s semi-finals, he took second behind the Czech Republic’s Ondrej Synek to cruise into Friday’s decisive event.