“I think we should be celebrating this medal,” said Richard Chambers. “It’s another medal for Team GB but I think we should also congratulate the winners. They are an outstanding crew.”

Peter Chambers, the younger of the two brothers from Coleraine, said:聽“We have to thank the whole of Northern Ireland for their support. Winning an Olympic silver medal is great.”

Rob Williams added: “You can’t be upset when you win a silver medal with 30,000 people cheering you on, it was a fabulous experience.

“We laid it all down. I couldn’t give more and nor could the other three.”

Strokeman Chris Bartley was helped onto the podium after showing signs of physical distress from the effort expended in a scintillating contest.

“The pain was quite extreme and I was physically sick a couple of times,” he said.聽“I’m still not feeling tip top but I’ll be OK.”

GB Rowing Team Performance Director David Tanner said: “This was an exceptional performance.聽It was GB’s second-ever lightweight Olympic medal and they can be proud of how they performed today.”

Britain’s other finalists – the mens’ double and women’s eight – were both fifth.

In the earlier semi-finals both lightweight doubles won in style to book their places in Saturday’s finals. Sophie Hosking and Kat Copeland reeled back the fast-starting Greek World Champions to take their victory.

Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase, defending Beijing champions, were locked in a battle with the French before succeeding.

They will be joined on Saturday by the men’s four of Andrew Triggs Hodge, Tom James, Peter Reed and Alex Gregory who beat their strongest rivals, Australia, to win.

“That was a nice semi-final but it’s the final on Saturday that counts”, said Triggs Hodge afterwards.

Britain has four boats in tomorrow’s finals: the men’s pair of George Nash and Will Satch, the men’s quadruple scull of Tom Solesbury, Charles Cousins, Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham, the women’s double scull, featuring double World Champions Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins; and Alan Campbell in the men’s single scull.

The finals start at 11.30am and run to 12.30pm.

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They were drawn together today, despite their pedigrees, because of Hunter and Purchase’s topsy-turvy results at recent world cups.

Sophie Hosking and Kat Copeland in the equivalent women’s GB boat will also feature on the same day’s race card. The duo unleashed a powerful surge just beyond halfway and went on to win in 6:59.97 – by far the fastest time across the three heats.

Whilst the British women’s eight, bronze medallists at the season’s final world cup, admitted that they weren’t at their best today in finishing third in a heat won convincingly by the Olympic champions from the USA, they believe there is more to come in Tuesday’s repechage.

WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE ROWERS?

Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins open their Olympic account聽tomorrow in the heats of the women’s double scull as do the men’s聽four of Alex Gregory, Pete Reed, Tom James and Andrew Triggs Hodge.

The British men’s eight, featuring three returning Beijing silver medallists聽Alex Partridge, Matt Langridge and Ric Egington will race their repechage of the men’s eight.

Beijing quadruple scull silver medallists Frances Houghton and Debbie聽Flood line up with Melanie Wilson and Beth Rodford in the repechage of聽the same event here tomorrow.

Racing starts at 09.30.

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