BUOYANT York City Rowing Club are bobbing to an unprecedented wave of conquest.

The club sampled their greatest success so far at the British Junior Rowing Championships held at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham.

The rowers, all aged between 14 and 18, were entered in nine different events and, after two days of exciting and close racing, they returned with one gold medal, two silvers and a bronze – a club record.

Sculler Sally Downing followed her early season success at the National Schools’ Regatta by gaining both an individual gold and a silver in a double scull at Nottingham.

She and Becky O’Keefe took silver in the J15 girls’ double scull.

A new combination, they comfortably won their semi-final before a stirring performance for silver in the final.

Within an hour, Downing returned to the start line in the women’s J15 single sculls.

In a supremely judged outing, she secured gold and was crowned national champion.

Although in second place for most of the race, she powered past her main rival in the last 200 metres to win by clear water. Having raced four times over the two-kilometre course in a little over four hours, an exhausted Downing had to be lifted from her boat.

The boys’ J15 double sculls of Alex Bruce and Will King rowed a magnificent race to secure silver against considerably larger crews. While not being able to catch the eventual winners they rowed hard and pulled away from the other four crews in the final.

The final medal, a bronze, was won by the women’s J16 quadruple scull crew of Kati Hinton, Olivia Howe, Emily Roberts and Alice Beardmore after a late surge.

Hauling themselves into third place in the last 50m, they left it so late to grab the medal that many spectators along the course didn’t know the result.

With 500m left the crew were more than a length down on a Durham crew they had not managed to beat all season.

However, they took their regional rivals to the line and the successful effort was worth the season’s wait.

The boys’ J18 quadruple scull crew of Eddie Hunter, Cieran Longmore, Charlie Wagstaff and Ethan McGahan also made the main final but lost out on a medal in a blanket finish with three other crews.

Other York crews to reach ‘B’ finals were: boys’ J16 double sculls (Ed Press and Ed Etheridge); J14 quad sculls (Alex Press, Alex Howe, Tom Roberts, Jamie Beardmore and cox Emily Whitaker); women’s J14 quad sculls (Bianca Dutton, Sophie Heldt, Lucy Downing, Charlotte Holford and cox Georgia Goulay).

The strength of the overall team meant that they came third in the Victor Ludorum competition – the first time York have ever been placed in the overall team event.