Hebden's Andy Hodge showed his versatility today by helping Great Britain to gold on a historic day at the World Cup in Amsterdam.

The North Yorkshireman, from near Skipton, is normally part of a world-class men's four including Alex Partridge, Steve Williams and Peter Reed.

However, the quartet, who were supplemented by the world champion men's pair, plus James Orme and Marcus Bateman, won the men's eight race.

And the squad eight took bronze on a weekend when Britain qualified two eights for a race for the first time and, of course, won two eights medals for the first time.

The British eights, with the composite squad in front, were leading with a third of the race remaining.

However, China closed, and although they nudged ahead of the squad eight, they failed to catch the new eight, who took gold by half a canvas in a dramatic race for the line.

Great Britain performance director David Tanner said: "What an amazing result for our men's eights.

"Our gold-medal winners demonstrated that they are world-class rowers but the best story for me is the huge step forward that's been taken by our squad eight who took bronze."

And the good news for the Bradford area continued with Guiseley's Debbie Flood taking silver as part of the women's quadruple scull.

The heavens opened at the Bosbann Lake just as the final started, and China led by three-quarters of a length at the halfway point and, more worryingly by the same margin at the two-thirds mark.

In the final 200 metres, Great Britain pulled back to slightly overlap China but there was no doubting the winners, with the Chinese jubilant and the British despondent.

"I'd rather know now that they can do that rather than find out in Beijing next year," said Flood's team-mate Frances Houghton of the Chinese.

Bradford's Baz Moffat was in the British team in the women's eights final, and little separated the top five crews after 500 metres, which Britain reached in fourth in the inside lane.

Halfway through the 2,000 metre course they were still fourth but they were overtaken by Australia, with the Dutch winning, followed by Germany and China.

Chief British coach Jurgen Grobler called today one of the most exciting days of his career as Britain also finished with a commanding gold in the men's lightweight pair via Matt Beechey and Daniel Harte.

Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham were pipped on the line by Estonia in the men's double sculls, and the lightweight double of Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter held off the Poles to gain another silver.

Richard Chambers, Paul Mattick, James Clarke and James Lindsey-Fynn were second in the lightweight men's fours.

The third and final World Cup meet before the World Championships in Munich in August is mid-July in Lucerne.