'Never give up' - Georgie Brayshaw's belief that took her from life-threatening injuries to Paris Olympic gold

That is what she had to do back when after a horse riding accident left her paralysed down her left-hand side and in a coma for nine days.

Fifteen years later, Brayshaw is an Olympic champion, thrillingly so as part of a women’s quadruple sculls crew that took gold in a photo finish on another dramatic day at Paris 2024.

Trailing in the final for the entire race, the British crew of Brayshaw, Lola Anderson, Lauren Henry and Hannah Scott surged back over the last 200 metres and got their noses in front right on the line at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Barely an hour after the race and with the gold medal around her neck, an emotional Brayshaw told The Yorkshire Post: “Never give up. From 15 when I had the accident to now there have been so many things that haven’t gone right, trials that haven’t gone right, training sessions that haven’t gone well and I have just kept going and going and going.”

The injuries that she suffered as a teenager changed her life. Her parents were told she may never walk again.

But a defiant Brayshaw rebuilt her body through rehab and physiotherapy.

Asked as she looked down at her gold medal what she would say to her 15-year-old self, Brayshaw said: “Don’t take no for an answer and I will never take no for an answer, I’ll always prove people wrong.

“Anyone that’s ever doubted me this is what I’ve done, and anyone that has ever been doubted this is what you can do too.

“You can get to the top as well. You’ve just got to believe in yourself.”

Brayshaw didn’t take up rowing seriously until after university. A spell at Leeds Rowing Club helped her on her way to the Great Britain squad at Berkshire.

Now an Olympic champion, she wants to carry on to the Los Angeles Games in four years’ time.

“Yeah definitely, I’ve still got more in me,” she said. “Keep going. I can’t wait. Age is nothing, I’m the oldest one in the boat. I’m in my prime.”

Brayshaw’s is just one of four uplifting stories from the women of the quad sculls who gave British Rowing their first gold medal of these Games.

The four only came together three years ago but in winning in Paris have added Olympic gold to their world and European titles.

As a 13-year-old, Anderson wrote a note to herself saying ‘win an Olympian medal’. Instantly embarrassed she threw it in the bin. It was only seven years later that she discovered her father had found it and kept it, when he gave it to her on his deathbed.

“I threw that away because I didn't believe,” said the 26-year-old, fighting back tears.

“I was 13 at the time so why would I believe? Young girls struggle a bit to see themselves as strong athletic individuals but that’s changing now.

“We have more and more women taking part in sport.

“My dad saw it before I did. But my potential would not have been unlocked without the girls I crossed the line with today. He would be very proud today.”

Given the equality these Games are promoting with as many female athletes as there are male, what advice would Anderson impart?

“Just take it day-by-day. There’s nothing unfeminine about getting strong, getting athletic and enjoying being aggressive and racy,” she said.

“Young girls out there are now starting to explore the joys of sport, how freeing it is and how much confidence it can give you. I just want all of the girls out there to feel that in the same way we do today.”

Scott, from Northern Ireland, was the only one in the boat who had experienced an Olympics before, finishing a disappointing seventh in Tokyo in what was a poor regatta for the British team.

Scott said: “Anything I learned from Tokyo I was going to use it in a good way, rather than just block it out.

“First-time Olympics for these girls, but it’s not always winning a gold medal and for anyone out there who’s not had a great first Games, that’s also okay.

“For all of us, we’ve all had setbacks in our individual story, it just shows you have to persevere and learn from those experiences and keep thriving and use it as a positive.

“It’s all about staying strong in this game and that’s what we showed down to the last stroke.”

They certainly did, the very last stroke of a 2,000-metre race, breaking Dutch hearts just as they had at last year’s world championships.

Henry said: “In the bow I could sense we were moving on the Dutch crew so my job is to call to the other girls.

“I said, 'We need to go now'. Georgie and Lola in the stern just drove that finish and we were with them the whole way.

“We just trust our plan so much. This means so much.”