Why is is so difficult?• is a question I am sure is asked by many as they casually switch on the television to watch the Boat Race and the annual viewing of one of the Oxbridge crews.

How many of them realise the sheer toil of those dedicated oarsmen, and many like them? Who would believe that Olympic gold medallists Pinsent and Redgrave will train 36 hours for every one of the 240 strokes they will take in Atlanta next year? Rowing is one of those sports that to the novice appears to have such a straightforward technique - one that would take little knowledge or work to master.

Having said that, wouldn‘t we expect our national hopes to train like that. But who would believe the pain and dedication that schoolboy oarsmen are prepared to invest, aiming for technical excellence, training for as much as 25 hours a week, combining this with the pressure of Oxbridge examinations and A-levels, all for the sake of possibly winning two or three events? With all this, one would be tempted to ask, Why?•

Not purely for glory, as already said. No, it is something more deep-rooted than that. I believe it is the friendships made in rowing and the trust one has to share in others. As for me, rowing is the epytomy of a team sport, where you train, eat and race together, believing that to win, all must give everything always, not just for themselves but for each other, and it is inevitably this feeling of togetherness• that makes a boat go fast.