Katherine Grainger is refusing to give up on representing Great Britain’s Olympic rowing team at Rio 2016 this summer.

The decision from Great Britain rowing chiefs to dissolve her partnership with sculls partner Vicky Thornley has jeopardised Grainger’s position in the GB team.

The 2012 gold medallist now faces a tense wait to discover if she will be make the cut and head to her fifth Olympics.

“It has put my Olympic place in the balance,” Grainger told the Times.

“I’ve never been in this position before, not having a seat so close to the Olympics. But I don’t want to walk away.”

The Scot took a two-year sabbatical after the 2012 games where she ended a sequence of three silver’s in a row alongside Anna Watkins.

Grainger’s victory at her home Olympics was one of the standout moments of the games and her desire to defend her title was a big reason for returning.

While sixth place at the World Championships in September ensured team GB would have a boat in Rio, concerns over the pairs capability of medalling have refused to disappear.

The decision to separate the Marlow Rowing Club member from her partner came after Grainger and Thornley finished fourth at the European Championships.

It is a decision which Grainger understands, even though she admits missing out on competing in the scull event is tough to swallow.

“The double has been close to my heart so I’m very disappointed about the decision,” she said.

“Defending the title was a driving factor in me coming back. So personally and professionally it’s disappointing.

“But Vicky and I weren’t performing to the right level so we have to look at other options.” The most realistic of those options will be in the eights where she will look to stake a claim for a place in what is an undeniably strong team.

It will not be an easy task as she tries to come into a team which came away from last week’s European Championships as winners.

Grainger, 40, has not been selected for the World Cup regatta which means she will have to make her case at the World Cup in Poland.

She remains confident in her quality and is excited by the prospect of battling her way into what is looking like an increasingly set team. She is, however, under no illusions about the size of the task she faces.

Grainger explained: “If we [herself and Thornley] can make the eight faster, it’s a very exciting opportunity because they are a top-class crew, but it has been made clear to us that we will have to earn our places.”