A QUARTET have become the first senior women in Bradford Amateur Rowing Club's near 150-year history to win a medal at the British Masters Championship.

The club's performance crew of Kim Davis (bow), Frances Horne, Emma Farmer and Rachel McGuinness (stroke) were runners-up in the Masters B IM3 4x event at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre near Nottingham.

The silver medal, which was only clinched by a hundredth of a second, was a reward for the quartet's hard work over the past two years, including training four or five times a week on their club's 650-metre stretch of the River Aire at Hirst Weir.

Conditions over the winter and spring, including high winds and high water levels, cancelled races and injuries, have often forced training indoors but the foursome still maintained their focus on racing at top level.

Now they intend to make waves at the Henley Masters Regatta on Friday, July 10, their appearance there being another first for the club.

An elated Davis said: "I never realised how dark the dark days would be when you don't want to go training.

"The weather and water levels have also been against us, we have had injuries, we have had some horrible conditions over the winter and have pushed ourselves really hard physically but the whole idea of competing in the British Masters was to get us used to competing in big events as a stepping stone towards Henley.

"It was amazing as we only got silver on the very last stroke. The bronze-medal team were recovering from their previous stroke as we were pushing the boat forward as hard as we could with our legs.

"I have seen the video footage – you will have seen races like it on television – and it was incredibly close."

Davis said of next month: "We don't expect to win at Henley as it is the creme de la creme but we are going there to compete, rather than just make up the numbers.

"But it great for our club and our coach (Mark Edwards) as we only have a 650-metre to 700-metre stretch of the River Aire to row on and have to keep spinning around at the end of it, whereas Teesside and York both have five kilometres of water."