NORTHALLERTON’S Laurence Whiteley proved that persistence pays off as he reached the final of the para-rowing mixed double scull at the Rowing World Championships yesterday.

Whiteley, who was the runner-up in the Senior Remarkable Achievement award at The Northern Echo’s Local Heroes Awards in 2012, teamed up with international newcomer Lauren Rowles to qualify for tomorrow’s final of the TAMix2x category via a repechage.

Whiteley, who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in 2004, switched to rowing after briefly taking up swimming when he decided to return to sport following a lengthy spell of treatment.

However, he was unable to compete at the highest level of the sport for more than two years as he did not have a suitably-classified female partner to compete with in the mixed double.

That changed earlier this year when Rowles, who has only just completed her A-levels, decided to take up rowing. The teenager had previously represented England in the Commonwealth Games in wheelchair track racing, and the switch to the water has gone well.

Whiteley had previously competed in the non-Paralympic single scull, but now finds himself in contention for a place at next year’s Paralympic Games in Rio if his partnership with Rowles continues to blossom.

Yesterday, the duo produced a perfectly-timed performance that enabled them to ease clear of opposition crews from Poland and Ukraine in order to win their repechage by two seconds.

“I’ve spent two and three quarter years waiting for this moment,” said Whiteley. “It doesn’t matter that it was raining. Our goal here was to qualify, and it feels great.”

Rowles, who first teamed up with Whiteley after the pair met at Stoke Mandeville, said: “We have dedicated everything to every session since I started, and credit to the coaches – Nick (Baker) and Tom (Dyson) – and to the physio and everyone who has supported us and helped us get here.

“When it started raining, we thought it was just like so many days at Caversham (the national training centre), so it felt just like at home. It’s amazing because I haven’t been rowing for very long – it’s incredible.”