Rowan McKellar will bid for her first Olympic medal this weekend after helping steer Britain’s women’s eight to victory in their heat.
The Glaswegian, 30, was part of the women’s four who narrowly missed out on the podium in Tokyo with a fourth-placed finish.
She has since moved into the bigger crew and they impressed in the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne sunshine, holding off the challenge of Australia and reigning champions Canada to avoid dropping into the repechage and qualify directly for Saturday’s final.
Britain have never won Olympic gold in the women’s eight and have ground to make up on current world champions Romania, who were convincing winners of the second heat, but Emily Ford was delighted with the way her crew laid down a marker.
“It was a really good start,” she said. “We haven’t raced since Lucerne (in May), so it has been quite a while.
“It was a bit nerve-wracking to get the first race out the way, but I feel ready for the final. We have a few days of training, so we’ll see what happens.
“It was close out there and anything can happen, the other crews have another race they can work things out in, and the final could be anything. It’s a good statement to make but it’s not over.”
The men’s eight also eased straight into the final with a convincing victory in their heat.
The crew includes Sholto Carnegie, who was inspired to take up the sport by his Edinburgh grandfather and trains in the Hebrides during breaks in the season.
Like McKellar, Carnegie was part of a crew to finish fourth in Tokyo – in the men’s four – and feels keeping it simple will be key as he sets his sights on a different outcome this time around.
“There is always expectation, but we have to keep the focus in the crew and do the simple things right,” he said.
“That’s what we’ve done all the way through this Olympiad and we’re just going to keep going.
“It is very different to Tokyo. It is amazing having all the crowds. We just have to keep pushing on, using it, embracing it. There’s one more race to go and it’s very exciting.
“We just have to keep doing our thing, enjoying each other’s company, and searching for more.
“That’s the exciting thing about a regatta. It’s not one of those events where you just get one chance, you learn about yourself every time you go out and race.”
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