SARAH Winckless returned from a long-term knee injury to steer Marlow to a one, two, three finish at the Great Britain trials in Boston last weekend.

Winckless has missed most of the season with a troublesome knee injury, but marked her return to the boat with an impressive third place behind fellow Marlow rowers Katherine Grainger and Annie Vernon.

The Amateur Rowing Association could not recall the last time the top three rowers all came from the same club, and neither could Winckless.

She said: "Katherine and I have had a few one, two finishes, but I can't remember the same club getting the top three places."

Winckless snapped a ligament in the gym in February and has been working her way back ever since.

She said: "I've been out a long old while, and watching the team doing so well at the World Championships was bitter-sweet.

"It was fantastic to see them winning, but I'd have loved to have been there with them."

Winckless, who has had to break the ice before training sessions in Marlow this week, is back in the groove just in time though.

She'll join the rest of the British squad on a two-week training camp in Seville, Spain, before warming up for the Beijing Olympics with the World Cup Series in the summer.

She said: "The British team is on a mission of getting gold at the Olympics.

"Katherine's got two silvers and I've got a bronze, so we've got a pretty experienced team.

"But my main New Year's resolution is just to stay fit and healthy now."