London 2012 Olympics: Mother of first Olympic rowing brothers in 20 years 'thrilled to bits' to see both siblings on starting line

 
Michael Howie2 August 2012

Like any parent, Gillian Chambers is thrilled to see her children strive to reach their potential.

And Mrs Chambers’ boys, Richard and Peter, have achieved something special indeed - being Britain’s first siblings to row in the Olympic games for 20 years.

Mum Gillian today told the Standard how the emotions took over when she saw her sons together on the Olympic starting line.

Richard, 27, and Peter, 22, were going for gold in today’s lightweight men’s four at Eton Dorney.

“To be honest at times I think it’s almost unbelievable. It really sunk in when I saw them together on the start line at an Olympic heat on Saturday,” said Mrs Chambers, 52.

The brothers are the first siblings to represent their country at a Games regatta since Greg and Jonny Searle claimed gold in Barcelona.

Along with crew mates Rob Williams and Chris Bartley, they reached today’s final by securing first place in the lightweight men’s four semi-finals after leading from the front in front of noisy crowds.

Mrs Chambers said: “I’m enormously proud of them. They’re good boys, they’ve worked hard. As parents you can ask no more of your children than to work hard, give their best and reach their full potential. We’re thrilled to bits.

“Seeing them on the line, I did feel quite emotional. There were a few tears. It is momentous. Yes, we’re terribly proud of our boys but we’d be proud of them had they never got into their boat.”

The family are from Coleraine in Northern Ireland. So, with Peter based in Oxford and Richard in Maidenhead, the family had to “celebrate down the phone” when they were picked to row in the Olympics.

Having previously rowed against each other, the brothers have had to put any sibling rivalry in check. “They are very competitive, even when they were against each other in the trials. But they are incredibly supportive of one another.”

Richard’s wife, Abi, says there’s been a “huge buzz and excitement” in the family over the brother’s Olympic effort.

“In some ways this time last year you wouldn’t necessarily have guessed it was going to happen. But in the past year Pete has really stepped up.”

After being an ‘Olympics widow’ for six weeks as Richard spent his time at training camps, physiotherapist Abi is looking forward to a relaxing family break - they have a nine-month old son, Joshua - once the Games are over.

“It would be lovely to have him back and spend some family time together.”

No exotic holidays are planned though.

“We will be taking a driving trip to head over to Northern Ireland for a family wedding.”

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