Great Britain won their first ever European Sprint Championships medal in the four-woman kayak category on day two in Brandenburg, Germany.

Jess Walker, Rachel Cawthorn, Louisa Sawers and Hayleigh Mason took bronze behind Hungary and Germany in the 200m.

But the crew have their sights set on Sunday's final of the Olympic-class 500m version of the event.

"The bigger test is on Sunday, and this will give us a great shot of confidence," said Cawthorn.

On Saturday the men's four-man kayak (K4) of Ben Farrell, Paul Wycherley, Stuart Hastings and Andy Daniels go for gold in the 1000m final.

The World Championships are the main aim for me this year; the World Cups were practise and this is the next step Rachel Cawthorn

On Sunday Cawthorn will also race in her single, after finishing fourth in her heat to reach the semi-finals.

"I try to keep my goal as reaching the final and then just to race my best race," the 20-year-old from Guildford told BBC Sport after that race.

"The K1 is slightly above the K4 for me but I have even chances in both."

GB's women's kayak double (K2) of Lucy Wainwright and Lani Belcher also made it straight into finals on Thursday's opening day of the flatwater Championships.

Cawthorn, in her third season with the GB senior squad, grabbed headlines when she won a gold and silver medal in the second World Cup event of the season in Poland last month.

But she will have to get past world champion Katalin Kovacs if she is to take the European title.

"The World Championships [in Canada in August] are the main aim for me this year; the World Cups were practise and this is the next step," added Cawthorn.

"A couple of the girls who have been racing in World Cups are not here but the top few - the medallists - tend to be European.

"After the Olympics, everything changes around this year so it is a really good year to get in there and establish myself."

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Wainwright and Belcher took bronze in Poland and Cawthorn puts the recent improvement in women's results down to coach Miklos Simon, who is now in charge of the whole group.

Tim Brabants' two Olympic sprint canoeing medals in Beijing have increased the sport's profile in the UK but Brabants has taken a year off, and the younger members of the squad have come to the fore.

"People know what it is now - before they always mistook us for rowers," Cawthorn added.

"It used to always be about Tim - we all watched him and he inspired us - but now we're all of a similar age and similar standard so we work together."

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