FORMER University of York rower Tom Ransley has booked his place at a second successive Olympic Games.

The 30-year-old oarsman helped Great Britain's men's coxless four take Worlde Championship bronze at Lac d'Aiguebelette in France.

It means he will fly out to Rio next summer four years after winning a bronze medal at London 2012 as part of the men's eight.

Ransley, who was joined by Alan Sinclair, Scott Durant and new stroke Stewart Innes in France, saw the team miss out on a silver medal by 0.36 seconds after a strong finish had closed the gap on runners-up Australia.

Italy, meanwhile, were crowned champions after also finishing ahead of the GB quartet in the semi-finals and heats.

On the boat's performance, Ransley said: "The initial reaction on crossing the line - aside from the pain and exhaustion - was disappointment but, on reflection, we were glad to come away with the medal. The crew had set out to challenge at the very front of the field but I think that ambition slipped out of our hands very early on.

"However, I think the Italians were great and deserving winners. To take the race by the scruff of the neck and go for the lead from the first stroke to the last is impressive and they have tried to do that in every race this season.

"But I am very proud of my crew. Although we didn't have our best start we reacted well.

"We didn't panic and chase the race but held our nerve and executed the fundamentals that we have spent many hard months embedding. We trusted in each other, stuck to our race plan and it visibly paid off in the second half of the race as we chewed up the field and rowed through top-class international crews."

The coxless four were part of a medal haul that saw Team GB head the overall Championship table with five golds and nine silvers and Ransley added: "The most important objective for us was to support the wider team and, to be fractions of a second away from silver and just a couple of seats down on the gold, has really put our team in a strong position going into the Olympic year and I'm looking forward to it.

"The four has had a tumultuous and, at times, gruelling journey through the summer racing season. We have shared about an equal number of highs and lows, from winning the European Championships and Henley Royal Regatta to missing out on the Lucerne World Cup final by less than half a second.

"But every member of the team has been very focussed on qualifying for Rio and the energy and commitment has been second to none."