Rowing silver medallists Mark Hunter, from Romford, and Zac Purchase gave everything they could when they rowed at Eton Dorney on Saturday, Hunter’s mother said.

The pair narrowly missed gold in the final of the men’s lightweight double sculls, losing out to Denmark.

Speaking after the race, Joan Hunter said her son and his teammate were “beating themselves up” over the second place finish.

She said: “The most pressure has come from themselves. They need to get themselves in a good place and savour what they have achieved. They’re both great guys and they should be very proud.

“I support Mark all the way. He puts everything he has into those races. I know he has given everything today.”

Hunter, 33, and Purchase, 26, from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, have partnered each other since 2007, but on Saturday they were unable to repeat their gold medal performance in Beijing.

Purchase broke down in tears at the end of the race, while Hunter’s parents said their son was hugely disappointed.

Their silver medal came after they had already watched GB’s men’s coxless four and women’s lightweight double scull teams win gold.

Mrs Hunter said: “On any other day, it might have been ok, but they just would have loved to have got that third gold. We are incredibly proud of them.”

Hunter’s father Terence, who is the head coach at Dorney Boat Club, said: “They had a brilliant start. They just couldn’t quite get enough lead to break the stream to get away. They sat in front, but just at that last bit the Danes pushed through.”