TOM Ford has been rewarded for a medal-winning performance earlier this month with a place in Great Britain’s team for the World Rowing Championships.

The Holmes Chapel athlete forms part of an unchanged men’s four crew that took silver at the European Championships in Glasgow.

Their challenge now is to transfer that form onto the global stage when rivals from the rest of the world descend on Plovdiv in Bulgaria.

“We feel there is strength across the board in this squad,” said Brendan Purcell, director of performance for British Rowing.

“This is our most important regatta of the year, and we’ll be looking to finish the season well to make sure we take momentum with us into the 2019 campaign.”

Ford, 26, will be joined in the boat by fellow Leander Club members Jacob Dawson, Adam Neill and James Johnston.

The quartet have improved over the course of the season, culminating in them finishing runners-up behind Romania in the European Championships final on home water.

That followed a triumph in the Stewards’ Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta – a historic 200th victory at the prestigious event for Leander Club – at the start of July.

Ford and company also improved to fourth in the second World Cup regatta of 2018 after classifying fifth in the opener.

The former Grange School student will be joined in Bulgaria by Emily, his younger sister, after she was selected as a spare for the women’s crews.

Great Britain won seven medals at last year's world championships at Sarasota in Florida, where Ford finished fourth in a men's coxed pair with Tim Clarke and cox Harry Brightmore.

This year’s edition starts on September 9.