FORMER Kingston Grammar School pupil and Brunel University student James Cracknell helped power Britain's coxless fours to Olympic gold on Saturday in one of the most exciting ever finals, writes Liam Vaughan.

Cracknell battled alongside team mates Matthew Pinsent, Ed Coode and Steve Williams to steal the Olympic gold medal, his second, pipping Canada by just eight hundredths of a second.

There was a silver for Kingston's Rebecca Romero, 24, who stroked the British team that came second in the women's final of the quadruple sculls in 6:31.26 - two seconds behind the winners, Germany.

Rebecca, who belongs to St Mary's College, Twickenham, was watched by Ian South, her former coach at Kingston Rowing Club.

Rounding off a fantastic success for local rowing, Sarah Winckless, 30, and Elise Laverick, 28, from the Skiff Club at Teddington won a bronze medal in the final of the women's double sculls.

Winckless and Laverick made a big improvement on the 7:29.75 which had earned them second place in their heat by finishing the final in 7:07.58, behind Germany and winners New Zealand.

Cambridge graduate Sarah followed in the rowing footsteps of her father, who was a Cambridge Blue. Elise also gained inspiration from her family - her mother was a world championship rower in the 1960s.

Cracknell has no plans to emulate five-times Olympic champion Sir Steven Redgrave.

James, who rowed with Redgrave and Pinsent in Britain's coxless four triumph at the last Olympics in Sydney, said he is unlikely to travel to Beijing for the next Games in 2008, deterred by China's dubious human rights record.

He declared: "People assume Matt will try to make it five medals, like Steve, and I'll be looking for three, like Matt. But I am not so sure about carrying on.

"Beijing does not appeal as a venue at all. I am not even sure the Olympics should be held there."

While Cracknell's team-mates seemed overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of their achievement, he kept his trade-mark cool after the race, retaining the composure of a man who never doubted his team would repeat the heady achievements of Sydney.

Cracknell, 32, said: "Six minutes would determine whether four years of training had been worthwhile and, to me, only one result would have made the sacrifices seem like a wise investment. I was prepared to battle all the way down the course."

The result came in spite of a season plagued by turmoil and injury within the British team. The controversial decision by head coach Jurgen Grobler to pull Pinsent and Cracknell out of the pairs, and the late call up of Goode as Alex Partridge had a collapsed lung left Britain with little race experience as a team.

Yet Cracknell insisted: "I never had any doubts we would win."

They did so in 6:06.98 - six inches ahead of Canada.

While Pinsent, Coode and Williams contemplate their future at rowing's highest level, Cracknell has made it clear he has no intention of stepping down just yet.

Teddington Royal Canoe Club's Ian Wynne and Paul Darby-Dowman will be competing in the final of the K2 1000m today, after qualifying in second place in 48.669 seconds.

Wynne also reached the final of the K1 1000 after winning his heat.