Grainger happy to grab silver at world championships

Published:

Mike Haggerty

WATCHING the second day of finals at the world championships in Poznan, Poland, Scotland’s Katherine Grain-ger was still finding it difficult to believe she had won silver on Saturday in her inaugural season as a single sculler.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” had been the Aberdonian’s reaction as she paddled in to her medal ceremony beside Belarus’ Ekaterina Karsten, who had just retained her world title, and bronze medallist Mirka Knapkova.

Despite missing out on podium places in the last two World Cups, Grainger’s performance had been no fluke, and she said: “With very strong tailwind conditions, I knew it was going to be fast. I’ve got a natural fast start and I thought if I could get out with the top crews then I’d have a decent chance.”

Grainger was never lower than second in the race and cruised past early leader Xuiuyun Zhang, of China, just after halfway to take the lead, and said: “Paul Thompson my coach told me not to assume anything, and if I found myself in the front, not to worry about that, just keep racing for the finish.” Grainger could not hold off Karsten in the closing stages as she said: “It was really rough, so I thought I’d just better hold it together rather than give it a complete burn for the finish.

“That’s down to a lack of racing in the single, which was a bit frustrating.”

Britain added two further medals yesterday – silver in lightweight women’s quads and bronze in lightweight women’s double to the three golds and four silvers won on Saturday.