Redgrave’s father Geoff, aged 70, a retired builder only just made the
race. For three days he has been in bed with Sydney flu and only
heavy medication got him out to the finish line in time to see a
moment of sporting history. “We been here since March and I’ve had no
problem then we come to Sydney and I get the flu.”
”It’s wonderful,” said Michael Tucker, a family friend. “We didn’t
travel 12,000 miles and sweet talk our way into these seats here for
nothing.”
Kate Hoey, the Minister for Sport, said: ”No words can describe how
proud we all are of Steve and the team. Never has a victory been so
richly deserved. It’s a victory that makes Steve the greatest Olympic
athlete of all time.”
The conditions were the worst for the entire week of the rowing
programme the waters rippling in the light breeze - conditions which
ironically favoured the heavier than average British coxless
four.
Clutching a freshly-bought drink Redgrave’s daughter Sophie, aged 6,
said: ”I’m so excited. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I came out
with Mummy and Daddy four weeks ago to see the race.” Blonde-haired
Sophie had a tiny union flag stencilled on either cheek.
Draped in a full-size union flag, Sophie’s chaperone Jacki Sherry,
aged 38, from Marlow and a family friend of the Redgraves, was just
as excited as her small protege. Sporting larger union flags on her
cheeks Ms Sherry said she has been following Redgrave’s career for 20
years with large amounts of memorabilia to prove it. A close friend
of Redgrave’s sister Jane she has been with the family during the
training camp on the Gold Coast in Queensland in the immediate run-up
the race.
The only recent Redgrave triumph that Ms Sherry missed was his gold in
Barcelona.
Along the banks at the start-finish line union flags far outnumbered
those of other countries leaving even the host nation in the shade.
Britain’s greatest rower now seems likely to retire though he has
twice before threatened to do so in Seoul after the 1988 Olympics and
again after the Atlanta games four years ago.
Redgrave’s glittering career includes that nine world championships
and three Commonwealth championships.
Dr. Richard Budgett, who was a member of the crew which won Redgrave’s
first gold medal is Los Angeles in 1984 said: ”It was extremely
emotional. I am in tears. It was desperate. I was just worried that
the Italians would catch them after seeing Greg Searle and Ed Coode
lose a medal in the same way in the coxless pairs earlier.”
The British four of Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, who has now won three
Olympic gold medals in succession, James Craknell and Tim Foster, too
the title over the tree-lined 2,000 metres course in 5 minutes 56.24
seconds.
They set a stupendous pace leading from the start and quickly
establishinga half length lead. The Italians, who had beaten the
British crew in Lucerene in July, began their move after 1000 metres
and over the last 250 metres attacked repeatedly.
The British crew, cheered on by thousands of their counrtymen who hung
Union Flags over the balustrades just as football supporters do, held
on in the a cacophony of noise. the Italians crept closer but the
British held them off to win by 0.38 seconds.
Pinsent punched the air but Redgrave, whose ability to row himself to
exhaustion is celebrated, collapsed over his oars, hardly able to
smile at his unprecedented triumph.
Redgrave’s position in Olympic history is now unique. The only two
Britons to have won four gold medals in the games are Henry Taylor and
Paul Radimilovic, who both took four gold medals in aquatic events at
the start of this century.
Internationally, Redgrave is now level with Pal Kovacs of Hungary who
won five consecutive gold medals as a member of their successful sabre
team between 1936 and 1960. However, his team colleague Aladar
Gerevich of Hungary stands on an even higher plinth. He won gold
medals in six consecutive games because he was also a member of the
team in 1932. Their records are particularly impressive because they
missed the chances of competing in the 1940 and 1944 games which were
cancelled because of the war. The most number of gold medals ever won
by an Olympian is ten by Ray Ewry who had all his victories in the
standing jumps which were popular at the start of the century and two
of his were won at the intercalated games of 1906 which were not
recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
Standing on nine gold medals are two celebrated athletes of the
modern era, the American athlete Carl Lewis who also took four
consecutive gold medals in the long jump and Larissa Latynina the
Soviet gymnast.
JOHN GOODBODY
The Times
