TOM and Emily Ford were in the medals at the first World Rowing Cup regatta of the year as they started an Olympic year well.

The siblings from Holmes Chapel – former students of The Grange School in Hartford – were partly responsible for three medals as Great Britain topped the medal table in Varese, Italy, over the weekend.

It means the team are in good shape for the upcoming European Championships in Szeged, Hungary, later this month, with the Olympic Games in Paris looming large in the summer.

Tom won gold as part of the men’s eight while Emily was part of the women’s eight that took home silver having also been in a second Great Britain boat in the women’s four that secured second spot on the podium.

Emily was in the GBR2 boat in the women’s four alongside Leander Club teammates Heidi Long and Rowan McKeller and Molesley BC’s Holly Dunford and in Friday’s heat, they came second to the GBR1 boat containing Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten with both advancing to Sunday’s A final.

That turned out to be a repeat story, with GBR1 leading a one-two with the Netherlands coming home third.

Ford barely had time to celebrate her silver medal as she and her three crewmates then jumped into the women’s eight boat for the A final less than an hour later.

With Hattie Taylor, Eve Stewart, Lauren Irwin, Annie Campbell-Orde and cox Henry Fieldman alongside them, Great Britain finished less than a second behind winners Italy to claim silver, with Romania taking home the bronze medal.

Knutsford Guardian: Emily Ford and her women's eight crewmates with their silver medalEmily Ford and her women's eight crewmates with their silver medal (Image: Benedict Tufnell for British Rowing)

The octet had won their heat on Friday by a comfortable margin ahead of Germany and a second Italian boat.

Tom and his men’s eight crewmates were in dominant form throughout the weekend and ensured they had a gold medal to show for their efforts as they came home more than two seconds clear of the Netherlands in Sunday’s final, with Germany taking bronze.

That came after they had qualified as the fastest boat in Friday’s heats as they finished six seconds clear of Italy in their race.

Tom was joined in the boat by Leander Club colleagues Sholto Carnegie, Jacob Dawson and Charlie Elwes, Oxford Brookes University trio Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding and Tom Digby and Newcastle University’s James Rudkin alongside cox Harry Brightmore.