FOUR Bournemouth students rewrote the record books as they charged to top spot at the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships.

The talented quartet from Harewood College - Omar Ibrahim, Tom Cave, Dominik Bihari and Nathan Prowles - beat rowers from across the UK to grab gold in the 2,000m sprint relay race.

They were among 2,700 young athletes competing at Lee Valley Athletics Centre in London – making it the world’s biggest indoor rowing event.

In their quest for glory, all the athletes were supported by the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race squads, who took time out to encourage the youngsters.

Harewood indoor rowing coach Paul Sawyer said: “The boys have been training for this event since the end of January and decided to focus on the team event rather than individual races.

“Their dedication has been immense and no stone was left unturned in their quest for the national title.”

The boys, who are all current National Schools League champions, took command of the race right from the start.

Ibrahim opened up a healthy lead in the first 100 metres which stretched further thanks to slick changeovers and powerful rowing.

Onlookers from the Cambridge Boat Race crew gathered around the Harewood boys as the lead continued to extend.

The year nine boys powered their way to a championship record of 6:19.60 seconds – more than 30 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals.

Also taking part in the same race were four year eight boys from Harewood - Bradley Weller, Reiss White, Sam Hassell and Reuben Tyler-Wilkinson – who finished an impressive seventh in a field of mainly older competitors.

Harewood College executive headteacher Debbie Godfrey-Phaure said: “We are very proud of all the boys who participated in London.

“I am especially pleased for the relay team who worked so hard to bring a national championship back to Harewood College."