KATHERINE Grainger took an impressive first stride towards the 2012 Olympics by winning an eighth career title at the British rowing trials in Belgium.
Grainger, the three-time Olympic silver medallist, dominated the single sculls final to beat Anna Bebington by seven seconds with Annie Vernon close behind in third.
Alan Campbell won the men's event, but only after holding off a determined cha
llenge from Matt Wells, the Olympic double scull bronze medallist.
Pete Reed, who won gold in Beijing with the men's four, won the pairs final with Alex Gregory, while Olympic finalists Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve won the women's race.
Grainger, 33, waited until December before deciding she would chase that elusive Olympic gold medal at the London Olympics after finally overcoming the "devastating disappointment" of finishing runner-up once again in Beijing.
She only returned to training in January, but was still too strong for a field which contained three other Olympic medallists, pulling a length clear after 900 metres.
"It's been a tough three months, but I've worked really well with my coach, Paul Thompson, to get it right," said Grainger.
Campbell beat Wells into second place with Ian Lawson claiming third ahead of Andy Triggs Hodge, who stroked the men's four to gold in Beijing but was continuing his sculling experiment.
"This year the standard in the sculling has been higher than ever before," said Campbell.
