Alan Campbell third in Lucerne single sculls final

Great Britain single sculler Alan Campbell is showing a return to the form which won him an Olympic medal

Coleraine's Alan Campbell has finished third in the final of the single sculls at the third World Cup regatta of the season in Lucerne.

Olympic champion Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand took the gold medal with Mindaugas Griskonis from Lithuania the runner-up.

It will be a satisfying result for Campbell who has come back from injury.

Last year he failed to make the semi-finals in Lucerne and was not selected to compete at the World Championships.

Drysdale's winning time in Sunday's race was 6:47.38.

Olympic bronze medallist Campbell powered home in the final 500m to overtake world champion Ondrej Synek from the Czech Republic, and was closing down on Griskonis for second place.

Since coming third at London 2012, Campbell has struggled to find that form and his last podium finish at an international regatta was in June 2013 at the World Cup event at Eton Dorney.

Twelve months ago he finished 14th overall at Lucerne and was told on the way home from Switzerland by GB Rowing that he was dropped from the World Championships, the first time in a decade that Campbell wasn't part of the senior squad.

After taking a short break from the sport, the 32-year-old put in an intensive winter's training, but his return to racing was delayed because of an early season injury that forced him to miss the European Championships in May.

He returned last month and finished fifth in the World Cup regatta in Varese and now is beginning to show the type of performance that will give him hope heading into the World Championships in France at the end of August where he will also hope to clinch Olympic qualification as he strives for selection to what would be his fourth Games in Rio next summer.

Campbell said afterwards: "To come back from last year like that, to go from 14th to bronze and being back on the podium - it feels like a gold-medal performance to me."

The medal hopes of Richard Chambers in the lightweight double sculls were hit when his partner Will Fletcher was forced to withdraw from the final because of injury.

Reserve Jono Clegg stepped in and the duo finished in fifth place.