Olympic gold medallist Katherine Grainger marked her return from a two-year absence from rowing by finishing second in the Great Britain senior trials.

The 39-year-old won double sculls gold with Anna Watkins at London 2012, but decided to take a break from the sport following her triumph.

On Sunday, Vicky Thornley beat Grainger to first in the women's single scull final by a full length.

"I've only been back a relatively short time," BBC Sport quotes Grainger as saying. "It would have been lovely to take the title again but it was a feisty second place and to someone like Vicky who is an amazing sculler. She had a great season last year and has clearly learned a lot from that."

The squad for the European Championships in Poland will be named on May 13.

Written by
Danielle Joynson