GOLDEN BOYS

Brothers Richard and Peter, rowing together for the first time at international level, were part of the Great Britain lightweight four that struck gold in the final World Cup regatta of the season in Lucerne.

But even that achievement had to share the spotlight with their sister Rebekah who got engaged on Saturday.

So much for parents Gillian and Eric to be proud of.

Racing in the lightweight four, because of the weight restrictions, is among the tightest in world rowing but the Chambers siblings, joined by Rob Williams and Paul Mattick, dominated the field all weekend.

Under a second separated five of the six crews at the halfway mark of the final but it was then that the British quartet eased into the lead.

The defending world champions opened up half a length with 500m to go and held that advantage comfortably to win in a time of 6:03.66, over a second ahead of Italy with Olympic champions Denmark in third.

Brother Richard (26) grabbed and hugged Peter ( 21) just after they’d crossed the finish line.

“It was a special moment. We knew coming into the regatta it was going to be tight once again and we knew we would have to work hard, but to win in Lucerne is an incredible feeling and to win it with my brother makes it just that little bit more special,” said Richard.

“I’m really proud of my kid brother,” added Richard.

“He’s come into a boat that expects to challenge for gold and he’s shown he’s a senior athlete. He’s amazing.”

Richard is a two-time world champion and preparations for this years championships in Bled, Slovenia begin in earnest in a couple of weeks time.

Whether Peter is part of that remains to be seen. He was only substituting for the injured Chris Bartley in Lucerne and will now head to the world Under-23 championships in two weeks time.

However, he has laid down a marker, not just for Bled, but also perhaps for London next year.

Peter admitted: “I am really delighted and to be doing it with Richard was very special. I don’t know what to think about the future. I’ll just go to the under-23s and try and do my best and after that I’ll let the selectors decide.”

Richard added, “It’s a good place for us to be in because if we want to win gold next year we have to have people who are quick enough to come into the boat and still win. Chris is a strong athlete and brings a lot to the boat; Peter has done that this weekend. The strength in depth is great.”