NORTHALLERTON para-rower Laurence Whiteley had a double reason to celebrate at the weekend as he claimed a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Austria – and booked a place at next year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo in the process.

Whiteley, who won Paralympic gold in Rio four years ago, claimed his first World title as he teamed up with long-term partner, Lauren Rowles, in the PR2 Mixed Double Sculls.

The pair secured an automatic Paralympic spot when they won their semi-final, which was staged on Whiteley’s 28th birthday, but there was even better to come when they returned to the water for the final.

Reproducing the form that saw them crowned Paralympic champions, the duo took the lead at the 1km mark and repelled a powerful finish from reigning World champions Annika van der Meer and Corne de Koning to triumph by three seconds. The superiority of the leading two boats was emphasised by the gap of almost half-a-minute that separated them from the rest of the field.

The victory continues a remarkable streak of success for Tees Rowing Club member Whiteley, who turned to rowing after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer.

Both he and Rowles have battled against injury in the last couple of years, and their latest victory on the World stage is testament to their perseverance as much as their ability.

“For the last hundred metres, I could barely see,” said Rowles. “Honest, I’ve never pulled so hard in my entire life. That’s the best performance Laurence and I have ever put out, and you can’t believe how much training and how much sacrifice went into that.

“We were saying before the race that we thrive off being the underdogs. It was an incredible race – every competitor loves that rush and last-minute sprint, that’s what you do it for.”

Middlesbrough’s Jo Wratten and Richmond’s Zoe Lee helped secure a women’s eight place at next year’s Olympics as they helped the British boat finish fifth in the World final.

Only the top five finishers were guaranteed a place in Tokyo, and with New Zealand and Australia battling it out at the front of the field from an early stage, the competition for the minor places was intense.

The British crew held fifth position for the majority of the race, but found themselves coming under strong pressure from Romania in the closing stages.

However, they dug deep in the final 200m and eventually finished a second-and-a-half clear of the Romanian crew, with the New Zealanders claiming gold.

Alnwick’s Sam Courty teamed up with Annie Withers to finish fourth in the B final of the women’s pair.