Martin and Valent Sinković were crowned men's pairs champions at the European Rowing Championships at Strathcylde Park ©Getty Images

Croatia’s Martin and Valent Sinković battled to the men’s pair title on the opening day of rowing finals at the European Championships in Glasgow, with Romania proving the most successful team here today.

The Sinković brothers are the reigning Olympic champions in the men’s double sculls but have switched to compete in the pair.

Valentin and Theophile Onfroy of France were expected to provide the biggest challenge to the Croatians and a close contest between the two sets of brothers unfolded.

A strong start saw the Onfroy duo lead at the halfway mark, but they were unable to hold off their fast finishing rivals.

The Sinković brothers came through to claim the gold medal in a time of 6min 26.42sec, with the French ending second in 6:27.40.

Romania claimed the bronze medal in 6:29.39.

The Romanians proved to be the star performers on the day coming away with a hat-trick of gold medals.

Their men’s four team emerged victorious having led the race from the start, with their crew finishing in a winning time of 5:54.34.

Britain and France were left to settle for the silver and bronze medals in 5:55.71 and 5:56.49.

Madalina Beres and Denisa Tilvescu won the pairs gold medal before helping Romania to women's eight victory ©Getty Images
Madalina Beres and Denisa Tilvescu won the pairs gold medal before helping Romania to women's eight victory ©Getty Images

Madalina Beres and Denisa Tilvescu managed their effort perfectly in the women’s pair, finishing strong to win the gold medal in 7.15.53.

The result ensured Beres defended her title having won in Račice last year with Laura Oprea.

The Netherlands won the silver medal by finishing in 7:17.34, with Italy ending third in 7:17.86.

Beres and Tilvescu returned to the water in the final medal race of the day and helped Romania clinch victory in the women’s eight which only had three finalists. 

A time of 6:08.98 saw the Romanians secure their third title of the day, with Britain and The Netherlands rounding off the podium in 6:10.09 and 6:10.78 respectively.

The most dominant performance of the day was delivered by Italy as their men’s lightweight quadruple sculls crew triumphed in a European record of 6:01.01.

They finished eight seconds clear of their nearest rivals Czech Republic, while The Netherlands won bronze in 6:10.54.

Italy's lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew earned a dominant victory ©Getty Images
Italy's lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew earned a dominant victory ©Getty Images

Italy’s quadruple sculls team repeated the achievement of their lightweight squad, claiming the country’s second title of the day by ending in 5:41.92.

Lithuania and Poland secured the silver and bronze medals, finishing in 5:43.40 and 5:43.88 respectively. 

Russia also celebrateed a gold medal, with their women’s four crew claiming victory in 6:39.97.

The podium was completed by Romania and Poland clocking 6:41.87 and 6:42.58 respectively.