Sometimes, finishing third has its benefits.

Greg Searle was part of an eight-man British rowing crew that won bronze, a disappointment for the 40-year-old, who came out of retirement in hopes of replicating his gold-winning performance in Barcelona two decades ago. Searle was finding himself consigned to a footnote in a Great Britain team that has been collecting golds as quick as it can paddle.

But as Searle's Twitter feed — (at)GregSearle2012 — demonstrated Sunday, he's just had an Olympic brush with greatness.

"Look who I made friends with at the handball," he offers his followers in a teasing caption to a photo link.

Click! And there Searle is, displaying a Cheshire cat grim, arm in arm with ... Kate Middleton, a.k.a. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

See the photo here: http://pic.twitter.com/KrJoeA05

— Shawn Pogatchnik — Twitter http://twitter.com/ShawnPogatchnik

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EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.