COUNTY rowing ace Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne has struck gold at the Under-23 World Championships in Rotterdam.

The St Weonards star teamed up with Jess Leyden to win the double skulls by six seconds.  

“I can’t believe how well that worked out," said Hodgkins-Byrne.

“This is my third go at the Under-23s and my first medal.

"It just felt different this year, we’ve felt really confident all the way.”

And to complete a double success for the Hodgkins-Byrne family, Mathilda's younger sister Charlotte claimed a silver medal in the women's eight. 

Alice Bowyer, Emily Ford, Chloe Brew, Holly Hill, Madeline Badcott, Anna Thornton, Heidi Long and cox Sasha Adwani were also in the GB boat that pushed away from Russia in the third 500m to finish second to the United States. 

Great Britain have now won six medals at the Championships - matching their toal from Plvdiv in Bulgaria last year. 

Sir David Tanner, British Rowing’s Performance director and overall team leader in Rotterdam, said: “With six medals, including two great golds and three strong silvers, we can be proud with our young rowers at these Championships.

“There is real promise in this team and I am sure that we have some exceptional talent here to challenge for senior team places at we start the Tokyo Olympiad.”