Rowing: Partridge gains place in coxless four

Alex Partridge of Oxford Brookes University has replaced Josh West in the bow seat of Britain's coxless four, now the leading boat for the Athens Olympics.

Partridge, a former junior and Under-23 international and a member of Great Britain's world championship bronze-medal eight last year, made his mark by winning the pairs trials last Wednesday with Andrew Hodge. Matthew Pinsent returns as stroke after missing the trials due to tonsillitis. James Cracknell is in the No 3 seat and Steve Williams in the No 2 seat. Williams and West finished fifth in the trials, and Williams retains his seat as second only to Pinsent as the strongest stroke side oarsman in a matrix test carried out in February.