BROMSGROVE rower Lauren Rowles MBE set a new world record on her way to gold at the European Championships.
Rowles combined with Gregg Stevenson to win gold in the PR2 mixed double sculls at Lake Bled, Slovenia.
The double Paralympic champion regained a title she last won in 2021 in what was her first race with Stevenson.
Rowles said: “We wanted to go out there and prove a point and put a performance on the table that shows what this event is about.
“We think the record time has been a bit stagnant for a few years now and we felt we needed to push it on. We wanted to push the event on and bring others with us.
“This is one of those days you look back on in your career and think it was very special. Gregg and I have just had so much fun rowing together and it’s been an absolute blast.
“He turns up every single day with the determination and perseverance that makes the boat go faster and it’s given me the lease of life to do the same.”
Rowles and Stevenson led from the start and never looked back, as the pair dominated the 2km race to take victory in a world record time of 8 minutes 2.94 seconds.
They finished nearly six seconds ahead of the Dutch crew who won silver whilst Ukraine took bronze in choppy conditions on Lake Bled.
The next focus for the pair will be September’s World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia where they can qualify their boat for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
British Rowing is the governing body for the sport and is responsible for the development of rowing in England and the training and selection of rowers to represent Great Britain. The GB Rowing Team is supported by the National Lottery Sports Fund. To find out more, and to follow the team, head to https://www.britishrowing.org/
