South London's Tom Solesbury, a member of Team GB's Quadruple Scull.

Olympic rowing: 1. Germany 2. Great Britain 3. Ukraine 4. Switzerland

Tom Solesbury helped Team GB’s Quadruple Scull to a comfortable second place finish in their heat as they booked their place in the semi-final.

Kent-born Solesbury and his teammates made a sluggish start to the race, lagging in third place behind Ukraine and the sensational Germans.

But while Germany quickly opened up a huge lead, the British quad began to make up ground on their Ukrainian counterparts.

By the halfway point of the race, Great Britain had moved into second place, leaving Ukraine and Switzerland in their wake.

From that point onwards, the second place finish never looked in doubt, and despite the considerable gap opened up by Germany, the British quad can look back on a job well done.

They will now take their place in the semi-final of a highly competitive field, where they will hope to achieve their pre-tournament goal of winning a place in the final.