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Tom Ransley named in TeamGB rowing squad for Rio Olympic Games

Four years of hard work have proved worthwhile for Kent's Tom Ransley after it was confirmed on Thursday that he has been selected for the Rio Olympic Games.

British Rowing named 43 of a total of 47 athletes chosen to represent TeamGB at the Rio Olympic Games in a ceremony at Henley-on-Thames this afternoon.

Ransley, the 30-year-old former King’s School Canterbury pupil, from Ashford, was confirmed in his second Olympic squad having had to settle for bronze in the men’s eight at Eton Dorney four years ago.

Tom Ransley. Picture: Naomi Baker
Tom Ransley. Picture: Naomi Baker

He said on Tuesday: “I suppose it is a big few days but my focus this week is on training. We have Poznan coming up and a job to do.”

On Monday, Ransley was confirmed in the eight for the final event before the Olympics, the third and final World Cup event of the season in Poznan, Poland, from June 17-19.

After a six-week training block, the heats of the men’s eight in Rio will take place on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, just a mile from Copacabana Beach on Monday, August 8, with the medals decided on Saturday, August 13, and Ransley is hoping to be there.

He admitted: “You try not to think too much about the overall picture on a day-to-day basis. We come in each day with a job to do and that’s all we can focus on.

“When you take a moment to think about it I suppose the announcement is a big deal and, if you get the news you are hoping for, something to enjoy and celebrate because it is the culmination of four years of hard work.

“It’s part of an overall journey, the selection is not the end, it’s just a step on the way to the ultimate goal which is competing for a medal at the Olympics.”

Selectors named a group of 12 rowers who will form the men's eight, the pair and two spares, with Ransley set to retain his place in the eight.

Squad: Paul Bennett, Scott Durant, Matt Gotrel, Andrew Triggs Hodge, Stewart Innes, Matt Langridge, Tom Ransley, Pete Reed, Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell, William Satch, Alan Sinclair, Matthew Tarrant and cox Phelan Hill,

Ransley claimed bronze in the new-look eight at the European Championships in Brandenburg last month, with the hosts claiming gold and Russia silver, although he was been included in a reshuffled men’s four in the past 12 months.

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