EMILY Ford racked up a notable win in Great Britain’s World Cup rowing triumph at the weekend.

The 28-year-old achieved gold with the women’s eight as GB finished top of the medal table in the third and final round in Lucerne, Switzerland, and in the process securing the series silverware.

Her brother Tom, 30, and fellow Tokyo Olympian also made it on to the podium as the men’s eight finished second to claim silver.

For the former Grange School students, who hail from Holmes Chapel, the performances set them in good stead for the World Championships in Belgrade in September when the aim of GB rowing chiefs will be to qualify as many boats as possible for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Nine GB medals were won in Lucerne, with the women’s eight crew’s gold being a particular highlight.

The W8+ contest was one of the races of the day, with Emily, Natasha Morrice, Rebecca Edwards, Lauren Irwin, Karen Bennett, Esme Booth, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde and cox, Henry Fieldman, taking the gold medal thanks to a sprint finish in the final seconds.

Edwards summed it up, saying: “This means so much, I can’t even really believe it’s happened.

“I think a lot of us have had plenty of races and put in so much work. This has been a big turnaround in the team and means so much to every single one of us.”

For Emily, it is a boat she has been in and out of over the past two years, having also spent time in a pair with Leander clubmate Esme Booth.

She won silver with the women’s eight in both the previous World Cup round in Italy and the European Championships in Slovenia, while she also placed fifth with Booth in the women’s pair in Bled.

For Tom in the men’s eight in Sunday’s final, the race was neck and neck throughout with Australia just getting the edge.

His crewmate James Rudkin said: “We wanted to get the win but fair play to the Aussies for putting together a really good race.

“They’re a very fast crew so no shame in getting beaten by them. They’re very strong. It’s a chance for us to learn from it and try to come back stronger.”

Director of performance for the GB rowing team, Louise Kingsley, collected the overall World Rowing Cup Trophy in front of athletes, friends and families after racing, and said: “The athletes have given us some excellent races with some I can only describe as edge-of-your-seat stuff but all showing class and great technique to deliver these medal-winning performances.

“We now will be focusing on our preparations for the World Championships and qualifying boats for the Paris 2024 games.”