Steve Redgrave of Great Britain
with his five Olympic gold
medals.
4
© 2008 Shaun Botterill/Allsport/Getty Images
Steve Redgrave celebrates
winning his third Olympic gold
medal at the 1992 Olympic
– being Sir Steve Games in Banyoles, Spain.
the name is synonymous with rowing. No other rower has come close to his
celebrity status. He is a brand himself. He is sir steve redgrave.
In a sport that shies away from big names
and big personalities, Redgrave is unique. His
status is well-deserved. During Redgrave’s
rowing career he not only picked up nine
World Championship titles, but his run of
five consecutive Olympic gold medals is a
feat that has been achieved by less than a
handful of athletes in the entire history of the
Olympic Games.
company employees. He is a personality,
a celebrity.
The fifth Olympic gold medal is now
eight years in the past and since then
Sir SteveRedgrave has not slowed down.
He has fundraised £ 5 million ( 7. 8 USD) in
five years for charity. He has mentored
athletes not just from rowing, but from a
number of different sports. He regularly gets
asked by political parties for advice on top
level sports. He has three marathons under
his belt and a knighthood before his name.
He has his own line of casual clothing (FiveG)
and a brand of drink (The Juice Doctor). He
knows his golf and knows how to motivate
Redgrave stepped out of the rowing boat on
the 23rd of September 2000 and did not put
a foot back in for over a year. It took a beer-charged evening and the much younger
Olympic Champion Ben Hunt-Davis to talk
Redgrave back into a boat. The two, both
retired, started going out in a pair together –
rowing at a time that they knew they would
not be spotted by the national team – but
Redgrave soon persuaded Hunt-Davis to
skip the rowing and instead enjoy a social
barbecue.
A five-year rowing hiatus followed. Then
Martin Cross came knocking. Redgrave had
won his first Olympic gold in a four with Cross
at the 1984 Olympics. Cross was putting
together a crew for the Henley Veteran
Regatta. “He caught me at a weak moment,”
says Redgrave. >>
