NAILSWORTH rower Pete Reed has claimed his third Olympic gold medal in Rio.

The Royal Navy lieutenant, who competed as part of the British men’s eight, raced to an emphatic win against their long-time rivals, the Germans, in the final this afternoon, which also featured the Unites States, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Poland.

Bursting out of the start gates, GB led the race from start to finish, holding on despite a last minute push from the Germans and Dutch who took silver and bronze respectively.

Having won the heat on Monday, the crew progressed to the final, keeping the powder dry for the medals race.

Alongside Reed, the crew featured a wealth of talent and experience with Will Satch, Matt Langridge, Paul Bennett, Matt Gotrel, Andrew Triggs-Hodge, Tom Randsley, Scott Durant and cox Phlean Hill.

The crew went into the games as one of the favourites for the win, having struck gold at the World Rowing Championships for the past three years.

But the Olympic title was by no means a certainty, with the eight losing GB’s top four athletes, Constantine Louloudis, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Cheltenham’s Alex Gregory from last year’s crew, as they moved into the coxless four, defending Britain’s title for the fourth year in a row.

With this third gold medal to add to his coxless four golds from the Beijing and London Olympics, Reed has elevated himself to one of the most decorated athletes in the GB rowing team, only behind the great Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent.

The medal also confirmed GB at the world’s top rowing nation, just topping Germany in the rankings.