NORTHALLERTON rower Laurence Whiteley and partner Lauren Rowles have won Paralympic gold in the mixed double scull this afternoon.

The pair lived up to the promise they showed in winning their heat in a World Best Time to win gold in Rio.

Whiteley, who waited two and a half years for GB Rowing Team to find a suitably-classified athlete to race with him, said: “I don’t think I can sum up the emotions. 

"It was two and a half years of thinking every day that it would be alright in the end. 

"There were days when I could have walked away some days but for the end prize to be Paralympic gold, I would have done it again in a heartbeat."

The Northern Echo:

Laurence Whiteley

Rowles added:  “We beat the world record in the heat and we had confidence that we would do well but every crew out here is incredible so you know that you are not going to win it by miles.

"We have been putting in hours and hours and it’s so good”.

Whiteley, 25, from Northallerton, took to swimming when he was 14 as part of his rehabilitation after suffering an aggressive form of bone cancer.

He moved to para rowing in 2012 from swimming, working with coach Greg Beswick at the Tees Rowing Club, before moving to the British team's high performance centre at Caversham.