Team GB win bronze medal in the women's double sculls - after Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde are pipped to the finish line by New Zealand and Romania in Paris

Team GB continued their strong start to the Olympic Games with a bronze medal in the women's double sculls, on Thursday morning.  

Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde powered through 2000m to claim third place in the event, with New Zealand taking gold and Romania winning silver. 

Team GB went out hard from the start and led at the 500m mark with Romania taking over by halfway.

New Zealand eventually moved into pole position for gold to edge out Romania, but Wilde and Hodgkins Byrne staved off a late challenge from the Netherlands to take bronze.

It was quite an achievement for the pair to medal as Wilde had surgery on her forearms 10 months ago and Hodgkins Byrne took time away from the sport after Tokyo 2020 to have her son Freddie, now two.

'Quite surreal to be honest,' Hodgkins-Byrne said, speaking on clinching bronze to BBC Sport.

'I knew we could do it before hand. But knowing you can do it is quite different from actually doing it. We saw from races here that anything can happen. I said before that all I have to do is stay in my boat and if I can do that I can get the best out of us.'

Her team-mate Wilde was subsequently asked how they clinched an Olympic medal despite her only haivng raced internationally three times before.

'I have no idea,' she said. 'I've had the support of so many people behind me. Mathilda has been such a great support to have on the bow and I just know that if I do my job, push as hard as I can then she'll get me over the line.'

In the men’s final, heavy favourites Netherlands were beaten to the gold by Romania as Ireland pair Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle clinched bronze.