HEREFORD rower Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne hailed her support network for helping her surge into the Olympic final.

The 29-year-old’s double sculls partnership with Rebecca Wilde has caught fire and the duo produced a superb display in the semi-final to book a place in Thursday’s medal contest.

Hodgkins-Byrne’s son Freddie was in the crowd at Vaires-sur-Marne.

“Especially in a small boat, having a bigger support network is really important, otherwise there’s a lot of pressure to keep each other going,” said Wilde.

“I’m not saying we can’t do it but there’s only one person to turn to. Having them relieves a bit of the pressure from each other.”

Wilde and Hodgkins-Byrne got off to a fine start and led through the first 1500m - they were overhauled by Romania in the last few metres but finished second with the top three sealing progression to the final. 

Wilde underwent surgery on her forearms in September and faced a battle to keep her place as a full-time athlete on the GB Rowing Team. 

“When I actually think back, it’s unbelievable,” said Wilde.

“If you’d have told me I’d have made an Olympic final after that, I’d never have believed you. It’s still sinking in. It’s always a dream but to have actually done it, it’s still sinking in.”

All ten British crews are still in contention for medals at Vaires-sur-Marne and Wilde believes the positivity in the pack is spreading. 

“We’ve watched all the results all week and seen how strong all of the crews looked,” said Wilde.

“Watching the eight and seeing how strong they were in the third 500m, we’ve done exactly the same training as them, we can do that. It was very confidence-boosting.”

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