Helen Glover and Heather Stanning qualify for rowing final

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning have won the first heat at Eton Dorney, directly qualifying for the Olympic rowing final.

The pair delivered a dominant performance, executing the race perfectly to reach the final with ease.

Great Britain led from 500m, completing it in a time of 3:24.29, with the United States in second and favourites Romania languishing in fourth.

Glover and Stanning continued to dominate, staying ahead of the chasers throughout and showing no signs of slowing down.

They finished the race in first place in a time of 6:57.29 - an Olympic best - with the United States also qualifying for the final after finishing second.

Romania, Germany and Argentina finished in third, fourth and fifth, leaving them to compete in the repechage.