GREAT Britain's men's eight sealed a strong finish to the World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette by claiming the nation's third straight gold in the event.

The team of Nailsworth's Pete Reed (a former pupil at Cirencester's Deer Park School), Matt Gotrel, Constantine Louloudis, Paul Bennett, Mohamed Shihi, Alex Gregory, George Nash, Will Satch and Phelan Hill held off Germany to win by just two-tenths of a second.

Victory means Great Britain topped the medals table with five golds, nine silvers and a bronze - and qualified 12 Olympic and four Paralympic slots for next year's Rio Games.

GB Rowing performance director Sir David Tanner said: "I am really pleased with our Championships performance. The men's eight winning gold was a great way to finish. With our medals, our 12 Olympic slots and four Paralympic slots we can now look forward to stepping on next year to a top performance in Rio at both Games."