Preston's rower Graeme Thomas wins World Cup gold

The 29-year-old together with his team-mates –Thomas Barras, Jonathan Walton and John Collins – battled with the German crew all the way down the track, sitting second through the 1,500m mark.

In the final 500m, the Brits edged ahead and stayed in front to the line, winning by a matter of inches.

The quad won silver at the World Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton last year, along with a full set of World Cup medals in the 2017 season and were proud of the way they raced in Belgrade.

Walton said: “We set out to win gold and did exactly that.

“It was a tough race but we got our noses ahead and that was the most important thing.”

Thomas added:“It was 2015 the last time I won a gold in the quad, so it’s good to be back. I’m hoping this will be a more consistent year, but it’s great to get the win.”

GB won three silver medals through the men’s double scull, men’s eight and women’s eight, and a bronze from the lightweight women’s double on a frenetic day of racing – shortened due to forecast thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Jack Beaumont and Angus Groom renewed their respective battles with Lithuania and came away with silver.

Another renewed rivalry was between GB and Germany in the men’s eight, with the British crew coming away with a silver medal.

Stroke man Will Satch was the only surviving member of the eight that beat the Germans at Rio 2016 but the crew had to settle for silver on this occasion by less than half a length.

The women’s eight overcame the early pace of China to comfortably win silver behind the Netherlands. Six of the eight athletes had earlier competed in the pairs and fours finals but recovered well to take the medal.