Maths teacher beats Olympian at rowing event

A maths teacher who beat a former Olympic rower in a competition has admitted he didn't know who he was until after they'd been on the podium together.

Ben Stephens won gold at the British Rowing Indoor Championships Masters in the open 2,000m category for men aged 30-39 last weekend.

His time of 6:07 was almost 10 seconds faster than third-placed Alan Sinclair, who represented Team GB at the 2016 Games in Rio.

But Mr Stephens told the BBC that it was only after he sent photos to fellow members of York City Rowing Club that he realised Mr Sinclair's identity.

Mr Stephens, from Barlby, also revealed they raced and celebrated together before the significance of his opponent's past dawned on him.

"We were talking to each other on the podium, just having a chat in general. Then the guys back at the rowing club said 'you know who that is right'?

"It's a fantastic scalp. He's obviously got great pedigree in the sport and has done it for a long time, so it was a little bit more of a cherry on top," he added.

Mr Sinclair, now 39, finished fourth in the men's pair event in Rio.

Mr Stephens began rowing on an indoor machine when his father, who worked on oil rigs, bought one for the family home, but didn't get out on the water until he was a university student and had been inspired by the London Olympics in 2012.

He was confident going into the event, having compared his times to those of previous winners, but added: "You never really know what's going to happen on the day. Someone who's not even on the results from last year could turn up, like I did, and do something that you're just not expecting."

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