Redgrave, third from left, with his gold-medal crew after winning his fifth Olympic gold medal
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In the pantheon of Olympic heroes, even the feats of Steve Redgrave do not allow him to occupy a unique plinth. The multiple sports that are encompassed by the Games allow competitors of most ages and many talents to excel, ranging from a 10-year-old Greek gymnast in 1896 to a 72-year-old medal-winner in shooting in 1924. Some events inevitably allow sportsmen and women a long career at the top because they are physically less demanding than others, thus allowing competitors to participate internationally into middle age.
Redgrave’s record is astonishing because it has been established in an endurance sport and in the modern era when rivalry is so intense.
Two Hungarian fencers, Aladar Gerevich and Pal Kovacs, have won five gold medals or more in consecutive Olympics. Gerevich was a member of the victorious sabre team between 1932 and 1960, when he was 50 years old, while Kovacs joined him for the last five Games.
Their record is particularly remarkable because they probably would have won even more titles if the Games had not been cancelled in 1940 and 1944 because of the second world war.
American athletes Carl Lewis and Al Oerter and also Paul Elvstroem, the Danish yachtsman, have all won gold medals in four successive Games. Elvstroem took the Finn Class from 1948-1960, while Carl Lewis did the same in the long jump between 1984 and 1996.
Lewis, perhaps the greatest athlete of the last century, also piled up a total of nine titles, one short of the record of Ray Ewry, another American who collected ten in the now-discontinued standing jumps between 1900 and 1908, although these included the intercalated Games in Athens in 1906, which are not officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee. The other victories of Lewis came in the 100 and 200m and 4x100m relay in 1984, the 100m in 1988 and the sprint relay in 1992.
Oerter was one of the greatest Olympians of all-time, beating the current world record-holder in the discus at four successive Games between 1956 and 1968. He was what the Americans termed "the ultimate clutch performer", the competitor able to produce his best when it really mattered.
As he once said: "I beat inexperience in Melbourne; public expectancy in Rome; injury in Tokyo and old age in Mexico." On his first victory in 1956, he was so astonished at getting the title after throwing a lifetime best that his knees gave way on the podium and he nearly collapsed.
The American’s most astonishing victory came in 1964 when he took part suffering from torn rib cartilages and a damaged cervical disc, forcing him to throw wearing a surgical collar. Oerter was wrapped up like a mummy and had pain-killers just before the event. He was in third place after four rounds but then took off the surgical collar, which had been hampering him, saying, "These are the Olympics, you die for them", and produced the winning throw.
These are the men among whom Redgrave stands alongside in sport’s hall of fame. However, he could still improve his standing. The oldest man to win a rowing gold medal was Guy Nickalls, who was aged 41 years and 262 days when Britain won the eights in 1908. Redgrave will be 42 years old when the Athens Olympics take place.
JOHN GOODBODY
The Times
