ROWINg duo Helen Glover and Heather Stanning have secured Great Britain’s first gold medal at London 2012 Olympic Games.

Ecstatic flag-waving fans, who have been longing for Team GB to take their place at the top of the podium, saw the pair become the first British women rowers ever to win Olympic gold.

Family and friends roared in the stands at a sunny Eton Dorney as the medal-winning day began.

The pair high-fived before lying back in the boat after a deafening roar saw them cross the finish line.

Glover, 26, a former PE teacher from Penzance, Cornwall, has been rowing for only four years after starting through the Sporting Giants scheme, which was set up by UK Sport to identify British sporting talent with a view to London 2012.

Stanning, 27, from Lossiemouth, Moray is a captain in the Royal Artillery and the women were paired together in the Bath training programme only three years ago.

Their dominance this year was born out of the frustration of being beaten into silver by New Zealand at the 2011 world championships by just eight-hundredths of a second.

The pair were home favourites for today’s race after setting an Olympic record of six minutes 57.29 seconds as they won their heat.