AFTER Upton rower Zac Purchase’s heroic silver medal-winning efforts, there are hopes of more home success when Malvern mountain biker Liam Killeen takes to the course for his third games this weekend.

The 30-year-old will be hoping to improve on a fourth place finish on his debut in Athens in 2004 and seventh in Beijing when he takes to the track in front of an anticipated 20,000 fans at 1.30pm on Sunday.

With his event not starting until a few hours before the closing ceremony, Liam has had to wait in the background while the spotlight has focused on Team GB’s hugely successful track and road cyclists, including Bradley Wiggins and six-time gold medal winner Sir Chris Hoy.

However that will all change if he can pedal himself into the medals around the purpose-built course at Hadleigh, overlooking the Thames Estuary.

Liam promised to give everything he could to achieve a great result.

“Whatever happens to me, I think the mountain bike race will be a great spectacle.

There are going to 20,000 spectators there and hopefully that will inspire a few more riders to the sport,” he said.

That is already proving the case following Zac’s hardfought silver medal in the lightweight men’s double scull final, with Upton Rowing Club already inundated with a new generation of rowing hopefuls wanting to take to the water.

Members of the club – where Zac spent the fledgling years of his career – joined millions up and down the country cheering him on as he and rowing partner Mark Hunter were agonisingly overtaken right on the finish line by Danes Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist, denying them a repeat of their gold at the Beijing games.

Their efforts were hailed as “wonderful” by Upton coach Angus McLeod. He said: “We’ve seen Zac’s efforts, and the efforts of Team GB, really inspiring people to want to get out on the water.

“We’ve had a big surge in interest and the very day after Zac’s race we were contacted by five people all saying they wanted to take up rowing – we are normally lucky if we get that in three months.”