Katherine Grainger may have stolen the headlines after clinching her fifth Olympic medal in Rio, but according to two-time silver medallist Alex Partridge, it is crewmate Vicky Thornley that should be given the credit.

Thornley, competing at her second Olympic Games, won silver in Rio alongside Grainger in the women’s double sculls, having led the rest of the field into the final stretch before Poland snatched the gold medal by just 0.95 seconds.

It came after the duo faced a lengthy battle to secure their spots in Team GB’s rowing squad having made a late bid for seats in the women’s eight, but were named as the double sculls pairing 17 days after the rest of the team was announced. But Partridge, who won silver and bronze in Beijing and London respectively, paid tribute to the duo’s determination to succeed, particularly 28-year-old Thornley who he admits defied the critics in fine style.

“I think Vicky and Katherine’s result was phenomenal given where they were this season,” said Partridge, who was speaking at the Invesco Perpetual City Regatta in London.

“It’s a testament to both of them, especially Vicky, because she has been the form athlete of the year.

“To step up throughout the Olympic regatta and deliver almost a gold medal-winning performance is brilliant. Vicky is a great friend of mine, and I’m just so proud that she has finally delivered when so many people doubted her for so long.

“What Katherine has achieved, five Olympic medals, is fantastic and is up there in comparison with Sir Steve Redgrave. But she didn’t do that without all her other crew mates, including Vicky.”

Like Partridge, Thornley is a member of Leander Club, the most successful rowing club in the world with 123 Olympic medals to its name after the close of the rowing programme in Rio.

And that, according to Partridge, is one of the reasons why Thornley continues to achieve great success on the world stage.

“I joined Leander Club at the end of 2004 just before the Athens Olympics,” he said. “Leander Club has always been a huge support to me through my journey to help me go on to win Olympic silver and bronze.

“The fact that they have the ability to do that is largely to do with Invesco Perpetual’s partnership with the club and the investment they put into the future of Olympic rowing.

“The key to Leander’s success is making sure that they are on the pulse of the next step of rowing, making sure they have the backing from partners like Invesco Perpetual, to be able to afford the athletes the amount of time needed for those marginal gains to win an Olympic medal.”

Invesco Perpetual is the proud supporter of Leander Club, the most successful rowing club in the world, with 123 Olympic and one Paralympic rowing medals won by its members since 1908.