KAT COPELAND, Jess Eddie and Zoe Lee all made a winning start as Britain’s rowers enjoyed a successful opening day at the European Championships in Germany.

Copeland teamed up with Charlotte Taylor to win her lightweight double sculls heat and progress to tomorrow’s semi-final, while Eddie and Lee were part of the women’s eight crew that successfully booked a place in Sunday’s final as they were also heat winners.

Stokesley’s Copeland will attempt to defend her Olympic title in Rio this summer, and her partnership with Taylor continues to look extremely strong.

The duo won the European title last summer, and made a strong start to the defence of their crown as they dominated their heat despite breezy conditions.

They established an early lead in the first half of the race, and while Sweden’s Annie Svensson and Emma Fredh threatened to become competitive in the third quarter, Copeland and Taylor were always in control as they eased to the line to win by two-thirds of a length.

The women’s eight are also assured of an Olympic place thanks to their performances last season, and with Richmond’s Lee in the stroke seat and Durham’s Eddie once again a key member of the crew, they qualified directly for the final courtesy of an accomplished display.

The first 500m of their heat saw them neck-and-neck with Romania, but they had built up a half-length lead by the halfway stage and eventually stretched to a length clear by the finishing line.

There have been a number of winter changes to the crew that finished fifth at last year’s World Championships, and on the evidence of today’s performance, the alterations have been effective.

Cresswell’s Jamie Kirkwood will be back in action tomorrow after finishing second in the opening heat of the non-Olympic class lightweight men’s single.

Croatia’s Luka Radonic, already a World Cup medallist this season, was a narrow winner, but Kirkwood’s runner-up spot was good enough to secure a place in tomorrow’s semi-final.

Yarm’s Tina Stiller is rowing with Jess Leyden, Holly Nixon and Ro Bradbury in the quadruple scull, and the quartet will compete in a repechage tomorrow after finishing third in their heat behind last month’s World Cup gold and silver medallists from Poland and Holland.

In total, seven British crews made it straight through to Sunday’s finals, with stand-out performances coming from the new-look men’s four of Alex Gregory, George Nash, Mo Sbihi and Constantine Louloudis, and the all-conquering women’s pair of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.