TEES ROWING CLUB duo Kat Copeland and Beth Bryan both claimed bronze medals to start the new Olympic cycle in style at the European Rowing Championships in the Czech Republic.

Copeland’s performance represented a welcome return to form for the 2012 Olympic gold medallist, who was bitterly disappointed to fail to make the final at the Rio Games last summer.

Teaming up with a new partner, Emily Craig, in the lightweight double sculls, Copeland, who is from Stokesley, finished in third position in yesterday’s European final behind crews from Poland and the Netherlands.

Sitting in fourth position for the majority of the race, Copeland and Craig overhauled their Italian opponents in the final 500m to claim a medal that sets them up nicely for the rest of the season.

Bryan’s performance was even more notable as this is her first full season in the senior ranks, and the Stockton sculler claimed a European bronze in the quadruple sculls.

Rowing with Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne, Holly Nixon and Jess Leyden, Bryan helped the British crew into fourth position at the halfway stage of the final.

They overhauled Poland to move into a medal slot, but were unable to claw back the boats from Germany and the Netherlands that filled the gold and silver medal positions.

Nevertheless, the performance was a strong one from the youthful British crew, with Britain having failed to qualify a quadruple sculls crew for last year’s Olympics.

Middlesbrough’s Jo Wratten was also making her European Championships debut in the women’s eight, and she finished in fourth position as Romania, the Netherlands and Russia claimed the medals.

Chester-le-Street’s Will Fletcher teamed up with Pete Chambers in the lightweight men’s double, but the pair could only finish in sixth position in a final won by French duo Pierre Houin and Jeremie Azou.

Vicky Thornley, who won an Olympic silver alongside Katherine Grainger in Rio, was Britain’s sole gold medallist, triumphing in the single sculls.

“With 11 out of our 13 boats in A finals, we can be pleased with the breadth of our squad,” said Sir David Tanner, performance director for British Rowing. “We’d hoped for a few more medals, but the four we achieved were very well done.

“The Europeans are a good early season – and early Olympiad – test, and we’ve a long way to go, with two more World Cups and a late September Worlds to blood our mainly new rowers and build on what we’ve achieved today.”