Rio 2016 Olympics: Great Britain's eights both qualify for rowing final

The GB men’s eight lead the first heat from the start to reach Saturday’s final ahead, with Germany also qualifying after winning the second heat.

New Zealand, Poland, Italy, United States and the Netherlands will all compete at the repechage on Wednesday in a bid to reach the final.

“That was the textbook way to row a heat - lead from the start, dominate through the middle and just watch as the other teams battle it out,” former Olympic champion James Cracknell told the BBC.

“They can choose what to work on for the final rather than think about the repechage. They ticked every box and now it's a case of making those boxes even better.”

Meanwhile, GB’s women endured a closer race, but a strong final 500m saw them overcome New Zealand to reach the final for the first time in Olympic history without needing the repechage to qualify.

New Zealand will be joined in Wednesday’s repechage in the women’s event by Canada, Romania, Australia and the Netherlands.