Britain's coxless four won gold at the World Championships in Japan after fending off the efforts of closest rivals Holland and Canada. The quartet of Andy Hodge, Alex Partridge, Steve Williams and Peter Reed had been favourites for gold after setting the fastest time in qualifying.
They had to go faster still in the final, but they led from the start and won by more than a second.
Earlier Britain's Zac Purchase won silver in the lightweight single scull.
He finished more than five seconds behind gold-medal winner Vasileios Polymeros of Greece and less than a second ahead of Fabrice Moreau.
"It was simply unbelievable", said Purchase. "It might not feel like it in the first minute or two when the pain kicks in, but now it feels great.
"My main aim this year was the Under-23 Championships, so this is incredible. I haven't been feeling the pressure and instead I've just been enjoying every moment of being here.
"All I wanted to do before the Championships started was to get to the final, so to finish with a medal is fantastic."
Jo Hammond was another early British finalist on Saturday.
She came within a second of a medal in the women's lightweight sculls but had to make do with fourth place.
Grandstand has coverage from the 2005 World Rowing Championships on Saturday (BBC One, 1425) and Sunday (BBC Two, 1400) 
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