Thornley sets sights on Olympic gold

Thornley, 28, was a member of the women's eight boat which finished fifth at London 2012.

She has since started racing alongside Katherine Grainger in the women's double scull, with the pair winning bronze at the 2015 European Championships.

The new season has also brought a number of impressive individual results with Thornley winning the women's single scull 5km trials in Boston, Lincolnshire in November before then topping the rankings at the latest trial event last weekend.

And while questions have been raised over Thornley's double sculls combination with Grainger after they finished sixth at this year's World Championships, she insists she will be doing all she can to put herself in pole position for next year.

"I want to win an Olympic medal, preferably gold," she said.

"I will want to be in the boat with the best chance of winning a medal.

"I was really pleased with the weekend. I won the trial in November so wanted to keep myself at the top of the team in the singles results.

"I did that and had a good margin over the second place.

"Fundamentally it comes down to what the coaches feel they want to prioritise.

"But the better results you have, the more sway you might have over the decisions that are made."

Sportsbeat 2015