Rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave has his eyes fixed on a different boat at Paris 2024.
Redgrave won gold at five successive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000 and is backing canoeist Joe Clarke to establish himself as a Team GB great this time.
Clarke won K1 Olympic gold in Rio but was overlooked for Tokyo 2020 and Redgrave believes the 31-year-old’s perseverance will be emphatically rewarded.
“A guy called Joe Clarke is an Olympic champion but doesn’t get a lot of publicity in canoe slalom,” said Redgrave, when asked who he believes will become a household name this summer.
“He’s going for two gold medals this time round and has a great chance of producing that.
“Joe is a great character and epitomizes what athletes do across the board. He’s had quite a tough struggle to get where he is.
“He’s competing relatively early on with his heats on Tuesday. Hopefully he gets what he deserves and gets the recognition that he deserves.”
If Clarke experienced Tokyo heartbreak in selection terms, then it was Helen Glover who fell agonisingly short during competition.
Glover won gold in London and Rio in the coxless pair but was dethroned when finishing less than three seconds off bronze in Tokyo.
Redgrave is adamant that a redemptive and fairy-tale victory awaits the mother-of-three.
“Helen was bitterly disappointed four years ago. Everyone said she retired after Rio, but she never made that announcement. She moved away from the sport, but officially, never retired,” said Redgrave.
“She will use the motivation from winning gold and knowing what it’s like to stand on top of that podium, but she also knows what it feels to cross the line having just missed out.”
“So everyone was thinking, would she come back? No one thought that she would carry on as long as she’s done. I think the fourth place she got three years ago spurred her on and now in the four they are favourites to win and they’ve had a fantastic season.
“I think it’s almost a guaranteed medal, but I think they’re going to take the gold.”
While Glover’s future post-Paris is uncertain, tennis icon Andy Murray and gymnast great Max Whitlock have declared that their Olympic swan songs will come in Paris.
Redgrave famously announced his retirement after winning gold in 1996 before returning for one final tilt in Sydney and says that sporting goodbyes are laced with a pressure to bow out on a high.
“It’s always very difficult when you retire and your last day at the office is a celebration of what you’ve done within your career,” he surmised.
“Your last day tends to be the most important day of your life.
“I remember lining up on the start line as a 22-year-old in LA and thinking: ‘okay, I’ve got at least another four years, maybe another two Olympics after that.’
“So you are thinking, if it doesn’t go right this time, I’ve got another chance.
“The older you get and the more Olympics you go through, you’re almost in the last waves of opportunity.”
Thanks to investment made possible by National Lottery players, over 1,000 medals have been won by Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes since National Lottery funding came into place at the tail end of Redgrave’s career.
The 62-year-old is forecasting another memorable Games across the board, with GB on track to fulfil their brief of between 50 and 70 medals.
“The fantastic funding The National Lottery brings sets us up to make sure that these athletes can deliver on their biggest day of their lives. So I think we are going to have a bumper haul of medals,” he added.
“I know that fifth or better in the medal table is what’s being predicted, but if we can get fourth or third, that will be incredible.”
Thanks to National Lottery players our Olympic athletes are supported to live their dreams and make the nation proud. With more than £30M a week raised for Good Causes, The National Lottery has enabled Great Britain to become a global force in rowing and has provided more opportunities for people inspired by athletes like Sir Steve Redgrave to take part in the sport. For details visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
Photo credit: Reuters via Beat Media Group subscription
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