George battles past tricky conditions to reach rowing semi-finals

By Will Jennings in Munich

Tom George battled through ‘all over the shop conditions’ to book his place in the European Championship semi-finals.

The Cheltenham star, 27, won his pairs heat alongside Oliver Wynne-Griffith on the opening day of the multi-sports championship and will row again on Friday for a place in the A Final.

George and Wynne-Griffith, 28, crossed the line in a time of 7:02.55 to triumph over Lithuania, Netherlands, Austria and Turkey at Munich’s Olympic Regatta Centre.

The weather in the city is red-hot but the duo were forced to navigate the windy terrain to keep their European dream alive.

George said: “We’ve got a bit to work on.

“Conditions were all over the shop but we’ve got to deal with it - it's fine.

“It’s the first race I've had to actually had to think about steering, given the wind.

“It was not a problem but it’s obviously just a bit annoying. We executed what we wanted and we won the race.”

For the second edition in 2022, the innovative multi-sports European Championship brings together the existing championships of the continent’s leading sports into one event that elevates the champions of Europe.

And George and Wynne-Griffith have every chance of grabbing one of the 177 gold medals on offer after their opening day display.

Rowing kicked off the 11-day German bonanza on Thursday morning, with cycling, gymnastics and sport climbing also featuring.

Athletics gets underway at Munich’s iconic Olympic Stadium on Monday while triathlon, canoe sprint, table tennis and beach volleyball also star in the revamped event.

Wynne-Griffith is buzzing to be part of it and after booking his place in the A Final, added: “We just wanted to build through the week and put the first marker down.

“Tomorrow will be better than today and the next day is better than that.

“There’s a bit of a headwind, it’s a bit swirly and not that easy.

“But it's the same for everyone and we’ve just got to get on with it and row the best we can.”

The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the German city. Follow online at bbc.co.uk/sport