Goodsell believes she and Hosking will go the distance

By Chris Cottrell, Sportsbeat

HESTER Goodsell believes her fledgling partnership with Sophie Hosking in the lightweight double scull will be Great Britain's premier double act at London 2012.

 HIGH HOPES: Hester Goodsell believes new partnership with Sophie Hosking will go the distance

British Rowing knew there were some big boots to fill following the retirement of Helen Casey - Goodsell's experienced partner from the 2007 World Championships and last year's Olympic Games.

But with Hosking taking over in the stroke seat at the start of this season, the new combination has immediately blossomed and achieved unprecedented success.

The duo won GB's first ever women's lightweight World Cup gold in Munich before backing it up with another victory three weeks later in Lucerne.

And after such an impressive World Cup campaign, it is hard to imagine Goodsell and Hoskins haven't been pencilled in to win one of the four medals they have targeted for August's World Championships in Poznan, Poland.

"We're definitely at the beginning of a project rather than the finalé - and hopefully it will be a three-year project leading to London 2012," said Goodsell, who is head of music at Elvian School in Reading.

"We really hope we'll be one of the four medals targeted by GB Rowing. We've got two gold medals already and we've never been beaten as a pair so we are full of confidence.

"But we're well aware there will be some good crews in Poland - the Australians will be strong and although the Finnish pair are currently racing as heavyweights, they will probably come into the lightweights for Poland so it's going to be competitive.

"But we've got those two world cups under our belt, we know we've got the ability to go fast and we always go to win."

British Rowing have harboured high hopes for the duo ever since they excelled in the under-23 age group - Goodsell winning 2005 World Championship gold in the single scull and Hosking claiming silver in the same event the following year.

But despite the pair's relative dominance of the lightweight class this season, Goodsell is keen to stress the partnership is still a work in progress.

"We're know we've still got a lot to do," added Goodsell. "Our performances in Lucerne and Munich were good for where we are now but there are a lot of things that we can still improve.

"Every year we have improved technically and stepped up individually. But as a double there is another side of it which is about making a crew boat work and it's quite a complex process.

"There's no point being good on your own if you can't be good with someone else - the next six weeks will be all about breaking the stroke down and sorting out a few of the things we'd begun to have a look at but not had the time because the world cups were only three weeks apart."