WORLD lightweight single sculls champion Zac Purchase tasted double delight at the World Cup regatta in Austria - even if his medal was silver instead of gold.

The King's School Worcester product has had to swap the one-man boat for the double scull to chase his dream of Olympic glory in Beijing.

A second place first time out behind world champions Denmark in a 34-boat field was hailed by rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave as "a very big step forward" on the road to China.

Worcester Rowing Club's Matt Beechey also made the podium in Linz with a brilliant bronze in the men's 72kg pairs to keep alive his dream of challenging for a place in the Olympic class coxless four.

Five-time Olympic champion Redgrave was suitably impressed by 21-year-old Purchase's move to the double with Henley-based Mark Hunter.

Redgrave said: "Zac's been outstanding in the single, taking silver at 19 in 2005 and then gold last year, but there's no singles at the Games and it's a huge jump from the one-man boat to the two-man.

"If they'd got a place in the final this weekend, we'd have probably been happy, but a silver shows they've got what it takes to really make a challenge in Beijing.

"We haven't had a world-class lightweight double for many years and taking silver is a very big step forward.

"Yes, the Danes were 2.6 seconds up, but let's not forget they won the world title last year by more than three seconds and there's more to come from this GB duo."

World champions Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist raced off the blocks to lead by a length at 500m, with Purchase shading second by feet from Canada and Hungary.

The British boys made a big move in the third 500m, pushing out to a length clear of the rest of the field hitting the last quarter.

Striking over 36 strokes a minute, they pushed home a length-and-a-half up on Canada in bronze with the Danes the same margin in front.

Japan, Hungary and Greece were fourth to sixth with the latter crew containing Olympic bronze medallist Vasileios Polymeros, the man who beat Purchase to singles gold in Japan two years ago.

"I'd like to think we were closing on the Danes at the end," said a delighted Purchase, who is already looking forward to challenging them again in three weeks in Amsterdam.

Beechey, 29, and partner Daniel Harte were third through every mark in their six-boat final, pushing within feet of Holland's bows with 500m to race.

The Dutch responded to hold onto silver by three-quarters of a length with Italy another length out in front.

Canada, the Italian second boat and Denmark were all well beaten.

In a remarkable weekend for British crews, GB's men's coxless four, pairs and doubles, plus the women's quadruple scull all took gold.

Men's sculler Alan Campbell and the women's eight landed silver and the lightweight men's four took bronze.