Sitting in the stands, chatting to his mum, having won the B final of the double sculls, Graeme Thomas thought his World Rowing Championships were over.

The 28-year-old was settling in to watch the quad sculls final on Saturday when he got a rush of Whatsapp messages telling him to get to the startline after Peter Lambert has tweaked his back in the warm up and was unable to row.

He rushed to the pontoon, hopped in the boat and within 15 minutes had won a world silver medal.

And according to Olympic champion Will Satch, there is no better man for a crisis than Thomas.

“I’ve said it before, but if there is a guy who you need to come out from the stands and do a job for you then Graeme is your man,” said Satch. speaking on behalf of SAS, the official analytics partner of British Rowing. The national team is analysing its data, using SAS technology, to ultimately help make the boats go faster.

“In the heat to be sat there and then to come out and on the stroke seat takes a lot so it was a big achievement for him and the team to be able to do it.

“He’s got it in the head and just gets on with the race – he is a proper racer and that takes a lot of doing, rowing is all about rhythm so you need people there who can fit to that.”

Thomas had gone to Sarasota, Florida, as the bowman in the double sculls and, with Angus Groom, won their heat before finishing fourth in the semi-final and only making it to the B final.

Friday saw the pair win that race to finish seventh overall and leave Thomas thinking his work for the weekend was done.

And even though that assumption ended up being incorrect, Satch was full of praise for Thomas and the remainder of the quad sculls crew – Jack Beaumont, John Collins and Jonny Walton.

“For the guys to then be there and follow it up to get that medal is impressive,” Satch added.

“It shows the depth in the boat and how much sculling there is in Great Britain.

“But it’s not just about the way you perform with the oar, it’s a real mental battle to be able to do that as well, having to row against the tide to get back to the pontoon, having a scramble to get someone and still being able to deliver a medal-winning performance.”

Will Satch was speaking on behalf of SAS – the leader in analytics software and services. SAS is the Official Analytics Partner of British Rowing. Further information at www.sas.com