Braintree athlete David Brierley has won a silver medal in the world's biggest ever indoor rowing competition.

Brierley, 55, won silver at the annual PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship at the Rivermead Leisure Complex at Reading in the Men's 55-59 event.

In a hotly contested final in front of 3,500 spectators, he stormed to a time of six minutes 46.1 seconds over 2,000 metres on the Concept 2 Indoor Rower.

He was under four seconds off winning goal and received his medal from cricket hero Angus Fraser, who also took part.

The event -- the tenth -- was sponsored for the first time by PPP healthcare and attracted more competitors than ever before, with several of the country's successful Olympians participating.

Boys and girls and men and women competed in age categories over the Olympic Regatta distance of 2,000 metres on identical Concept 2 Indoor Rower machines.

Organiser John Wilson from Concept 2 said the race entry was a world record for the sport, commenting: "This year's entry, with over 1,900 confirmed, was the biggest ever and made this the world's largest ever indoor rowing event. Those lining up to take part over the Olympic Regatta distance range in age from 10 to 90.

"The huge success of Britain's rowing squad in Sydney certainly captured the public's imagination, as well as confirming indoor rowing as a sport in the ascendancy."

Highlight of the day was a breathtaking head to head contest in the Men's Open category between Britain's James Cracknell -- a member of the Coxless Four which triumphed so spectacularly at the Sydney Olympics -- and Lorenzo Carboncini -- a member of the Italian Coxless Four, which came within inches of denying Redgrave, Pinsent, Foster and Cracknell the gold medal.

The battle was won by Cracknell in five minutes 48.4 seconds, a fraction off his personal best.

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