Borderer Harry Leask helps GB win silver medal at World Rowing Championships in Czech Republic

Leask, formerly of Heriot but now living in Edinburgh, and team-mates George Bourne, Matt Haywood and Tom Barras put in their best performance of the season to finish runners-up in Racice, clocking 5:40.97, less than a second behind champions Poland.

“We didn’t have the best start to the season, but thankfully we’ve got used to being in the boat now, and the results speak for themselves,” said Leask, 26.

“It’s absolutely amazing to be back on the podium again.”

Leask and his team-mates missed out on a podium place at August’s European championships in Germany, finishing fourth, so he was delighted to see them improve on that near miss competing on a bigger stage.

“It’s been very up and down this season,” he said.

“We didn’t have the best start, but this result speaks for itself and it’s amazing to be back on the podium.

“What an exciting project this is to be a part of.

“We’ve grown massively as a crew, even in this regatta.

“We’ve been to some dark places, but we’ve managed to turn it around and couldn’t have ended the season much better.”

Haywood, 24, added that having the Olympic silver-medal-winning experience of Leask and Barras in their boat had been invaluable, the pair, along with Jack Beaumont and Angus Groom, having taken that runners-up prize in the men’s quadruple sculls at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in July last year, losing out to the Netherlands for gold.

“These guys have really helped us,” he said.

“We’ve improved each race and we’re definitely on the right track.”

Leask, a member of Oxfordshire’s Leander Club since 2012, made his senior debut at 2017’s first world cup, placing fourth in the men’s quad, and won a bronze medal, together with Beaumont, at Glasgow’s 2018 European championships in the double scull, having been called up at short notice to replace Groom.

Leask earned a seat in the quad in 2021, finishing fifth at that year’s European championships before taking silver in Japan.