COUNTY rower Morgan Baynham-Williams made it a hat-trick of World U23 medals when she steered the Great Britain women's eight to a brilliant bronze in Bulgaria.

The Ross Rowing Club cox guided her crew home behind the USA and Russia in their six-lane final, even inspiring them by singing the national anthem in the closing stages.

But fellow Herefordshire oarswoman Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne from St Weonards just missed out on a podium spot in Plovdiv, finishing fourth in the GB double scull.

Sports science graduate Baynham-Williams, who hopes to steer the Oxford Boat Race crew next year, took silver steering the GB eight at the two previous World U23 Championships in Austria and Italy.

But with only two rowers back from 2014, said the crew 'couldn't have done anymore on the day’.

And she admitted they are still trying to get their heads around her rendition of the national anthem, which came with 750m to race as GB lay just out of the medals behind Holland in third.

"My anthem was a shock to all of us - they've been talking about it ever since," said Baynham-Williams.

"We were fourth mid-race, and I was calling us through a seat at a time.

"Then suddenly, I said ‘I’m going to sing the national anthem’.

"It was spontaneous and more of a shout, but it worked as we piled past the Dutch.

"And then I went gear one, on the legs, gear two, strong through the hip drive, then 'with me, up two' for the run in, and called catch and finish to the line.

"The US got gold, Russia silver, but we gave it everything."

The USA came home a length clear, with the Brits just half a length off silver, followed by Germany, Holland and Belarus.

And the Oxford Brookes graduate is already hungry for more success.

"I'll be at Ross Regatta this weekend supporting my home club, and then in September I’m off to Oxford University for a muscular skeletal sciences research masters, and hopefully a Boat Race seat said the 21-year-old," said Baynham-Williams.

Hodgkins-Byrne, 20, who started her career at Hereford RC and is the older sister of world junior medalist Charlotte, raced through the semi-finals finishing second to Romania with partner Georgia Francis.

But the duo had to settle for fourth in the final, just over two lengths back on the eastern Europeans in gold, with New Zealand and Holland in silver and bronze and Belarus and Germany fifth and sixth.

* Hundreds of rowers and paddlers will be launching out over the Bank Holiday weekend in nearly 500 crews at the annual Ross Regatta.

The weekend kicks off with dragon boat racing on Saturday afternoon, followed by the masters and juniors regatta all day Sunday, and the senior regatta all day Monday.