Double Olympic medallist Mark Hunter is confident British Rowing can continue to dominate globally with the appointment of Brendan Purcell as its new director of performance.

Purcell started in his new role on June 1, replacing the legendary Sir David Tanner CBE, who stepped down at the end of February.

Sir David helped orchestrate a period of success for Great Britain that saw 27 British crews win Olympic medals, 12 of them gold, over his 21 years in charge.

Purcell, 47, has been performance director at British Triathlon since 2013, leading Great Britain to seven medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“It’s sad to see Sir David Tanner go,” said Hunter, who won gold at Beijing 2008 and silver at the London 2012 Olympics in the lightweight double sculls. “He’s done so much for the sport and put in place the structure we have now.

“But like anything you need change, new ideas, freshness and something different and I really think Brendan Purcell will provide that.

“It’s really exciting for the athletes and the sport, Brendan’s coming from a different environment but he understands about being a team manager.

“He’ll have new ideas, he’ll get to understand how things work internally but I’m looking forward to seeing his vision going forward and what he brings to the team and the sport.

“British Rowing has had some amazing success, we can’t take that for granted going forward but obviously you’ve got aspiring young athletes coming forward into that culture and that mindset and I expect us to keep being successful at the Olympic Games going forward.”

Hunter has been chosen as a City Champion for London in an innovative new competition for rowing due to take place this summer – the Power8 Sprints.

The inaugural race will be held at Bristol Harbour on Sunday 22 July and sees both male and female crews compete for their city, head-to head in a knock-out tournament over a 350m course.

Newcastle, Manchester, Nottingham, Exeter, Bristol, Oxford, Cambridge and London will all face off against each other, with supporters able to see the action from Bristol harbourside or live on BT Sport.

“The project is something we’ve all been looking forward to in the sport, having something different, a different challenge and a different strategy,” said the now-retired Hunter, 39.

“It’s something that’s entertaining, fun, exciting and just brings crowd into the race too.

“Having it over 350 metres is something we’re really looking forward to.

“They’ll be on the water for two hours, no rest or recovery and winner takes all.

“Normally we race over vast distances so to have something that’s short, sharp, explosive and can bring a different type of athlete.”

Mark Hunter is a City Champion for London’s Power8 Sprints rowing crew, who will be competing at the inaugural event on July 22 as the headline act on the water at the Bristol Harbour Festival. To find out how you can get involved, visit www.power8sprints.com