ROWING: A FORMER Dauntsey's School pupil stroked her way to a gold medal at the Commonwealth Rowing Championships in Strathclyde on Sunday.

Georgina Menheneott and her partner Rachel Loveridge were crowned Commonwealth champions in the women's 2000m double sculls.

The English pair finished six seconds clear of their Canadian counterparts in near-perfect sculling conditions on Strathclyde Park Lake.

Menheneott, who trains twice a day at the Mort Lake Anglian and Alpha Boat Club in London, was still coming to terms with her victory on Wednesday afternoon.

"I still can't believe this has happened," she said.

"It was such an amazing feeling standing on the podium knowing I had just won a gold for England."

Menheneott and Loveridge had just three weeks to prepare for the race after qualifying as the sole English pair at the Commonwealth trials in July.

The English women soon settled into their stroke but found themselves trailing the Australian boat at the 250m buoy.

By 500m, Menheneott and Laveridge had battled back and established themselves at the head of the field.

It was a lead they would not relinquish and they crossed the finish line in a swift time of seven minutes 22.78 seconds to give England a winning start to the regatta.

Menheneott, who sat in the bow, was overcome with emotion it the final stages of the race.

She said: "I was looking down on the rest of field thinking I can't believe we're going to win this.' "I kept telling myself to concentrate and not do anything to mess things up. When we crossed the finish line I broke into the biggest smile you have ever seen."

Menheneott is no stranger to success.

Earlier this summer she won the senior singles sculling event at Henley.

She has tasted victory twice before at the famous Oxfordshire regatta. In 2004, she won gold in the coxed fours and the following year she won the elite pairs race.

Menheneott now has her sights set on winning a place in the Great Britain squad for next year's World Championships.

She will travel to Boston in Lincolnshire this winter to take part in the British trials. If she gets through the opening phase she will be invited to the final trials in April, when the full GB team will be selected.

"Obviously that is my aim now," she said "With a Commonwealth gold behind me I want to push on and see where I can go from here.

"I do so much hard work during the winter to prepare for the season and sometimes you think, why do I bother?

"But this result makes everything worthwhile and I'm willing to do it all over again this winter.

"I'm proud of what I have achieved and I know I can do so much more."