SOUTH DEVON'S two Great Britain squad members came away from Henley Royal Regatta with some superb results and winners trophies to prove that they are indeed Olympic hopefuls.

Torquay-based Marcus Bateman, 28, and Matt Wells, both of Leander were outstanding and lifted the Double Sculls Challenge Cup in convincing style.

In the their quarter-final the current world silver medallists Matt Wells and Marcus Bateman knocked two seconds off Steve Redgrave's double scull time of 1:58 to the Barrier on the Henley course which he set with Adam Clift, 29 years ago in 1982.

Wells and Bateman beat an international lightweight crew from Shandong Province in China by two and a quarter lengths in their opening race and Bateman in particular was delighted.

"The record was 29 years old, that's the same age as me," he exclaimed. "It is very nice to get Steve Redgrave's record, we just chatted to him and he said he was surprised we didn't do it sooner.

"It is like when Bannister broke the four-minute mile, it is a mental thing. We know we are going well and we got the right draw and the right conditions."

Wells added: "It was very different from last year when it was a raging head wind and we were probably a minute slower."

In their semi-final the GB double scull faced testing opposition in the form of the Americans from the Chula Vista Training Centre who finished 5th at the 2011 world cup race in Munich behind the second-placed GB boat.

Bateman and Wells broke the old Barrier record for the second day running - just one second slower than the 1:56 record they posted in their quarter-final to break Sir Steve Redgrave's 1982 record.

And this time the 'Red Express' kept the power on to break the Fawley record of 3:20 by three seconds - set in 2010 by French scullers Julien Berrest and Cedric Bahain - and the 16-year-old overall record of 6:55 set by the Americans Brian Jamieson and Dave Gleeson, to win by three quarters of a length.

"It is quite surprising we broke records on the way down, we weren't looking for that. But it is good to take the (Fawley) record away from the French double", said Bateman. Despite having broken all the Henley records for the double scull, Bateman had one more target.

"I haven't won Henley before so I would like to amend that. And if it is against the Olympic champions (Australia) that is all the better."

Matt Wells took bronze behind the Aussie pair of David Crawshay and Scott Brennan in Beijing with Stephen Rowbotham.

"We're a good crew and we're feeling great," said Wells, from Northumberland. "It would be good to race the Aussies again like I did in Beijing, bring it on."

In their final Bateman and Wells were winners by two and a half lengths to take the Double Sculls Challenge Cup, beating the Olympic Champions Scott Brennan and David Crawshay. They were quick, though, to underline that Brennan is only recently coming back into the sport after a two-year break.

KINGSWEAR-BASED Bill Lucas, 23, of London Rowing Club competed in the Men's quadruple sculls boat with Stephen Rowbotham, Tom Solesbury, and Sam Townsend in the Queen Mother Challenge Cup.

In their semi-final they beat Chula Vista Training Centre of the USA by two-thirds of a length in 6:17, two seconds off the record for the Queen Mother Challenge Cup.

Stephen Rowbotham, Bill Lucas, and Sam Townsend won the Cup last year with Charles Cousins but this year, with Tom Solesbury, they faced the world champions from Croatia in the final after the Polish crew, containing three reigning Olympic champions were knocked out.

Solesbury said: "We think we've made some good steps forward since Munich. We're getting better all the time and we've picked up some speed. We knew the USA were going to be tough opponents but we really executed what Banksy (coach Mark Banks) said to us in the pre-race chat."

In their final they beat the World Champions from Croatia by one and a quarter lengths in a time of 6:17.

Chris Ryan of Kingswear Rowing Club who was at Henley to watch Bill said: "Croatia were a canvas up at the end of the island but then the GB crew took them shortly after and maintained a one and half length lead to the finish.

"The commentators noted that the GB crew kept an unusually high rating of 42+ all the way to the half mile mark - at least 3 pips up on Croatia – hence their lead at that time. Croatia seemed to have no answer to the power of the GB crew. I personally suspect they found the two lane 'tight' course at Henley

intimidating."

COMMONWEALTH gold medallists Elliot Barton of Dart Totnes and Alan Davies of Cardiff City were also competitors in the double sculls but were drawn away from Bateman and Wells.

The lightweight pair met Jinks and Wallace of the University of Birmingham and Two Lions Boat Club in the first round. Barton and Davies were easy winners in 7:35. In their quarter final they met Chapman and Bidwell of the Australian Institute of Sport but were beaten by four lengths.

FORMER Dart Totnes member Peter Kerswell-Jensen rowed for Wallingford in the Club Men's coxless fours but they were easily beaten by City of Bristol in the first round and similarly Dart Totnes member Barnaby Stentiford who rowed for Durham University A in the Student eights were first round two and three quarter length losers to University of Groningen, Holland.