A twenty-two hour flight took us from Autumn to Spring, and to an unmatched welcome in the Olympic city of Sydney. Throughout our stay, we were helped by volunteer guides; although all of us were at times part of throngs of hundreds of thousands, everyone was made to feel relaxed in one of the happiest of international gatherings. There had been fears that the city‘s transport system would grind to a halt, but first-rate train and shuttle bus services ensured that we hardly ever had to wait more than minutes to be taken from one venue to another.

The journey to Sydney for the team had been a far longer one. Most of them had been preparing for the event for years, during which they had undergone rigorous daily training, leading to races which are often won and lost by hundredths of a second after five or six minutes of physical effort over the 2000 metre course. The new Olympic rowing course is near the Blue Mountains, some 40 miles from Sydney. Open water can be windy, but all eight days of the regatta were blessed with completely calm conditions, making the venue second to none. A crowd of some 30,000 watched racing each day - a far higher number than at any previous regatta. A loyal rowing community from all over the world was boosted by many local families who took the unique opportunity given by the Millennium Olympics to see a wide variety of sports. Our Australian hosts gave unstinting support to their own teams, but they were generous in their recognition of others.

I was one of a large British rowing contingent, which included friends and families of the crews. I had gone to support three competitors in particular. The first was Steve Williams, who started his rowing at Monkton Combe some 10 years ago, and was spare man in the British rowing team. He went to Sydney as a World Champion in Coxed Fours, but unfortunately there is no longer room for that event in the programme. Host cities simply cannot cope with the numbers involved, and some good events have had to make way for others, both within rowing and elsewhere. (The current games included Beach Volleyball and Mountain Biking.) Steve had the difficult task of remaining fit and enthusiastic out of sight of the main competition in case he was needed as a substitute. It was not to be.

The other Steve to support was Steve Redgrave, who was going for his fifth consecutive Gold Medal, his first being in the Coxed Four in Seoul in 1984. He won his very first medal, however, as a young schoolboy at Avon County Regatta, which has been organised by Avon County Rowing Club of Saltford for over thirty years. It was a great pleasure for the club and other local rowing folk to welcome Steve as their guest at a recent dinner. He has been an inspiration to generations of oarsmen, including Alex Partridge, this year‘s Under 23 Nations Cup champion in Coxed Fours (another Monktonian), who was at that dinner and was privileged to sit next to Steve during the meal. It may be that no specific advice was given, but there is no doubt that men of Steve‘s stature can and do lift the aspirations and performance of those who follow them. Steve Redgrave was with his crew when he met one of the Olympic volunteers, who asked him if he was a member of the crew. No•, said Steve with a straight face, I‘m their coach - I‘m far to old to be rowing still•. He is indeed far too old, at 38, to be rowing at the highest level in one of the toughest of endurance sports, but his presence in the crew and as part of the team has been crucial. The GB Four started their final as the current World Champions, though they had been beaten once in the past four years, by Italy, one of their rivals in the race. The crew set off at a cracking pace, going up on the other five crews within the first few metres; but at this level, there is no room for error, and the lead of a second or less was maintained for over five minutes, with strength built up by years of hard training, and technique perfected over miles of practice. Towards the end, the Italians crept up to within half a second, and Redgrave, the wise and experienced tactician, called for a higher rate of work — unsustainable for more than a few strokes — about 100 metres before the finish. The crowds on the bank willed him on, some shouting ever louder, others with tears in their eyes. Some said he looked tired after the race, and that he could not have gone any further. My guess is that he would say that he did not need to go further, because the race was over 2000 metres, not 2010! After victory by 0.3 seconds, the tension was released, and this greatest of modern Olympians found himself in the arms of the stroke man, Matthew Pinsent, who has won three Olympic Golds with him. Matthew (not a light man!) had climbed over another member of the crew so they could share a unique moment in an embrace which said so much about crew rowing in which each member of a crew depends absolutely on the efforts of the others as well as of the whole. The crew then spent a long time paddling near the crowds thanking them for their support before receiving their GoldMedals from the Princess Royal. Steve Redgrave also received a gold pin recognising his great achievements at five successive Olympiads, from Mr Antonio Samaranch, the President of the IOC.

It was not till the second day of finals that the GB VIII took part in the blue riband event of the regatta. The crew was coxed by Rowley Douglas, the second member of the Olympic rowing team to have taken up the sport at Monkton Combe. His early experience was with the school 2nd VIII, which he and a young Steve Williams drove to victories, often beating the 1st VIII during a successful season. They both went on to the 1st VIII for two years. Since then, he has gone on to Oxford Brookes University, and to cox several outstanding men‘s and women‘s crews. Those who row with him say that his very presence in the boat inspired them to greater efforts. His role in this tight race proved to be crucial. Earlier rounds had indicated that the result would be close, with Great Britain in with a good chance of a medal. A very fast start, during which the GB boat roared into action, and went up marginally on the others gave them a lead which they held on to, at a rate hardly dropping below 39 throughout. They were still ahead after 500 metres, and after 1000, but not by enough to guarantee success. The physical fitness of the crew, and all their skills had to be used faultlessly for another 1000. The roars of a crowd of 30,000 would have drowned out much of what the cox had to say, but important messages will have been transmitted, either through the amplifier system, or just as likely by the telepathy and trust which holds a well trained crew together. By 1750 metres, the bow of the boat was sufficiently ahead for a victory to be likely, but the crew had to maintain its efforts to the line to beat the Australian crew by less than a second. Rowley Douglas did a neat backwards flip into the water as the boat slowed down and was left behind by an exultant crew. After the medal ceremony, the crew paddled over to the packed grandstands, and drew into the bank for a good half hour so they could share their victory with their families and supporters. There was no wasted champagne to spray, just heartfelt congratulations from the many, many friends who had travelled all those miles to be with them in Sydney.

Julian Bewick - Sydney 24 September 2000