Women carry flag in London sprint

The victorious pair have dominated the three-regatta series and will head into London 2012 in 40 days’ time as favourites to become Britain’s first-ever female Olympic rowing champions.

It is Britain’s women who are carrying the flag to Eton-Dorney, with the world champion double scull of Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins now unbeaten in 21 races.

Grainger and Watkins saw off their Australian rivals yesterday to win gold by a length and sign off their competitive Olympic preparations with a commanding result.

Britain won a total of eight medals in Munich, three more than at the second regatta in Lucerne, and it was enough to secure the overall World Cup title.

Glover and Stanning were world silver medallists last year and have emerged during the course of this World Cup season as the crew to beat in the women’s pair.

The Brits won by an impressive four seconds.

“It was important for us to win by the same margin as we did in Lucerne, to show we have made progress as well as the others,” Stanning said.

“To go in as favourites is a nice sort of pressure to have, to have the recognition for what you have done.”

Grainger and Watkins, the double world champions, are confident they can unlock even more speed over the next five weeks.

“We’re still not at our fastest,” said Grainger, who is aiming for a first Olympic gold after three consecutive silver medals.

“You won’t see our best speed until the Olympics and that has always been our plan.”

The men’s lightweight four of Richard and Peter Chambers, Rob Williams and Chris Bartley also claimed gold with a performance described by GB Rowing performance director David Tanner as “sensational”.

But elsewhere across the team there was disappointment with the men’s four – Britain’s flagship heavyweight crew including Skipton’s Andy Hodge – forced to accept silver after losing out to Australia.

They kept up an odd tradition for British boats coached by Jurgen Grobler, who has never had a winner in the final race before an Olympics. On each previous occasion the British crew have turned things around and won gold – dating back to Steve Redgrave and Mathew Pinsent in the 1992 Olympics – and Pete Reed is determined the men’s four will do the same.

“Physically we couldn’t hold it together,” said Reed, who switched to the bow seat for this regatta.

“In the last 250 our rowing was short and poor. We don’t have the fitness and strength to beat a crew as classy as Australia.

“But getting silver here could be the best thing that happened to us.”

Half of Britain’s medal tally was bronze, which included an encouraging performance from the women’s quad of Melanie Wilson, Guiseley’s Debbie Flood, Frances Houghton and Beth Rodford.

But Alan Campbell was expected to do better than bronze in the men’s single scull with world champion Mahe Drysdale and Ondrej Synek both absent, as were the men’s eight given main rivals Germany were not competing.

The team will now embark on two brutal training camps on their final push before the Olympics.