Britain's Steve Redgrave remained on course for his Olympic date with destiny today when he helped steer Britain into the final of the Coxless Fours.
On a crisp, sunny morning at Penrith Lakes the British crew, comprising Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell, won their semi-final in imperious style.
Now Redgrave stands just one race and 2,000 metres away from an historic fifth consecutive gold medal. The British crew surged into the lead from the start and were more than a length up before the half-way mark, leaving Slovenia and the United States trailing in their wake.
It gave Redgrave and his team-mates the opportunity to cruise the second half of the course, taking it easy to conserve energy for the bigger effort to come on Saturday.
It also means that the British crew, who recorded a time of six minutes two point three eight seconds will have a central lane in Saturday's final, which is considered to be the most advantageous.
Their main rivals Australia also qualified in a thrilling race in the other semi-final, getting the decision in a photo-finish with Italy in a time half-a-second faster than the cruising British crew. New Zealand were the other crew to qualify. Meanwhile there was more good news for Britain when Greg Searle and Ed Coode stormed impressively into the final of the Men's Coxless Pairs.
The British pair also led from the start in a thrilling semi-final, showing the power and style which made Searle a gold medallist in Barcelona.
And while they were caught on the line by a late surge from France they showed the sort of form which suggests they will be serious medal contenders in the final on Saturday.
The French crew covered the 2,000 metres course in 6:30.96 with the Brits a fraction behind in 6:31.08 in a photo-finish which thrilled a huge crowd. South Africa took the other qualifying place.
