WORLD indoor rowing champion Anna Bailey of Hanley Swan was suffering from a lower back strain, so went along to the Nottingham Championships in Newark last weekend just for the ride.

Even after a slow and careful paddle, Anna, a member of the Evesham-based Old Wrecks rowing squad, still managed to win the Women's 50-59 class in 7:58.9, and the later 500m race in 1:42.9.

The season's Grand Prix series gets under way with the Portsmouth Grand Prix on Sunday (October 20) at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth.