Surbiton's Moe Sbihi wrote himself into British rowing history by breaking Sir Matthew Pinsent’s 11-year-old British indoor 2km record on Saturday.
The 28-year-old former Hollyfield School student clocked five minutes 41.8 seconds for the distance on an ergometer at the Olympic velodrome in Stratford.
Sbihi, a bronze medallist at the London 2012 Olympics and current world men's eight champion, said: “It’s a big record and it’s stood for quite a long time so I’m delighted to have broken it especially in the Olympic season.
He added: "It is a great atmosphere and a wonderful event here. It’s such a good place to have set the record. Indoor rowing is now a massive bit of our sport. The machines are the same in gyms around the world and it’s growing and growing."
In the spotlight: Moe Sbihi talks to the media after his record breaking effort All pictures: Anthony Cullen
World silver medallist Sam Townsend, who finished runner up to Sbihi in a time of 5:47.6, was full of admiration for his team-mate:
“I’m chuffed for Moe. It’s a good record that he’s beaten. I train alongside Moe a lot in the gym and he’s worked hard for that," he added.
“For myself, it’s just shy of my personal best which I set in 2011. So that’s a good marker for me and shows that I’m on the right track for the Olympic season.
"It’s a very good stepping stone to the next test which we have in March."
Paul Bennett, third in a time of 5:48.5, has come into the SAS Analytics-supported Championships off the back of illness and was disappointed with his score coming home in a time of 5:48.5.
“That’s around three seconds off my personal best, so I’m a bit disappointed to be honest. I wanted to be a bit closer than that but it is what it is," he said.
From the 2015 GB World Champion men’s eight the pecking order from fourth onwards was Will Satch, George Nash, Alex Gregory, Matt Gotrel and Pete Reed.
Richard Chambers, 2012 Olympic silver medallist in the lightweight men’s four, won gold too.
He finished in 6:08.8, in the lightweight men’s 2km category, to bolster his confidence after a hard training camp.
“I wanted to test myself against myself here and I’ve done that," said Chambers.
"It’s not bad, but not a PB.”
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