Sean Murphy won gold in the men’s event, while Georgia Nesbitt claimed silver in the women’s equivalent.

Both rowers wore black armbands in their finals to honour the late Australian Olympic rowing coach, Nick Garratt, who died suddenly last week.

Murphy clocked 7min 53.150sec to secure his second gold medal of the World Rowing Cup season, finishing six seconds clear of Rajko Hrvat of Slovenia, with Ireland’s Gary O’Donovan third.

“I had to be careful at the start but at 400 metres I locked eyes with Gary and pushed hard,” said Murphy.

“This is all a bit unexpected.

“Coming into the World Rowing Cups, I would have been happy with just competing in A finals.”

Yesterday, due to poor conditions, heats had to be raced as time trials on the Willem-Alexander Baan course but today matters returned to the usual six-lane format.

In the women’s single sculls, Nesbitt took the lead midway through the race but Britain’s Imogen Grant proved too strong in clocking 8:43.590, with Germany’s Marie-Louise Draeger taking bronze.

Elsewhere, Spain’s Aina Cid and Virginia Diaz Rivas were winners of the women’s pair, finishing ahead of New Zealand’s Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler and Australia’s Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre.

New Zealand’s Tom Murray and Michael Brake had recorded the fastest qualifying time in the men’s pair semi-finals but finished third in the final.

Britain’s Harry Glenister and George Rossiter took the win with Czech Republic’s Lukas Helesic and Jakub Podrazil earning silver.

Action is due to continue in Rotterdam tomorrow.