Sir Steve Redgrave at the Paris Olympics

Sir Steve Redgrave will be going to the Paris Olympics. Of course, he is. He’s been going to them in one guise or another for years: competitor, champion, national hero, ambassador, commentator. He reached the height of his fame, 24 years ago at the Sydney Olympics where he won his fifth successive Olympic gold medal and became a legend, the world’s greatest oarsman and Britain’s most gloriously stubborn pursuer of mission and masochistic training.

But a lot of water has flowed down the rowing course since that victory in Australia when he was 38 years old, with colitis, diabetes, a fractured arm & fortunately a boat with another three people in it. Now he’s a grandpa and his competitiveness is largely confined to golf. TheBBC announced this year they were dropping him from their commentary team and he couldn’t blame them. “There a whole two generations that don’t even know what I’ve done.”

He is going though, after all. Commentaries for Talksport, appearances for the National Lottery and three “Evenings with Sir Steve” for TeamGB are among the invitations, so the run continues. The run that roughly translates as:  Boy with one O level in woodwork from the local comprehensive rows to glory, excelling beyond the borderline toffs and Oxbridge students who traditionally comprised British rowing up to the point he set his cruddy flip-flops on the landing stage.

“It’s scary how well I remember things.” And there’s a lot to remember looking back over his five Olympic cycles with all the illnesses, injuries, arguments, dramas, rebellions, teammates, rivals, near-death experiences, laughs, fears, tragedy & agonising weight-sessions. “At the time you just do your training and compete. As an athlete that’s what you do. Almost beasting yourself. You’re in pain all the time.  I had no other perspective then but I do now.

“After the 2012 London Games, I became clinically depressed. I suddenly had no motivation, no goal to achieve. When the cauldron went out at the Paralympics I thought: ‘We’ll that’s it after being around the Olympics for 36 years, it’s suddenly all coming to an end. ’The reality was I was still going to work for the BBC in Rio, I was chief rowing coach of China but I still felt like it was the end.

“A lot of athletes find it hard to get back into society when they retire. I was lucky when at first when I stopped competing I was invited to be part of the London Olympic bid which gave me a dream to shoot for in a different way. But after London, I thought: ‘What am I going to do now?’ And like a typical bloke I didn’t do anything about it for nine years. I still did appearances, day-to-day things, knowing deep down I’d got depression. But I didn’t go to see my GP,  I just thought: This is what life is like without a driving force.

“Eventually I did see my doctor. He suggested I see a psychologist. I didn’t. I was put on medication, but I didn’t stay on it long. I have to take tablets on a daily basis for my colitis and I’ve got to take insulin for my diabetes, I didn’t want to take anything else on a longterm basis. I suppose me being me, I thought I’ve got to pull myself together and get on with things.

“I am a bit of a loner. I could easily see myself as a hermit in some ways.  But, it’s funny, when I look back on my career my best results were always in a team. I’m a headstrong team player but I need a team around to get the best out of me.”

Now that team has morphed into mates on the golf course. “I go in phases with my golf. I’m enjoying it at the moment. I’ve accepted I’m shit at it, but I enjoy the social side of it. It’s that camaraderie, the banter   - the things I didn’t think I needed when I was a single sculler.” Turns out he does need them.

Thanks to Sir Steve Redgrave for supporting Stepping Out with Carers as part of https://www.carerssteppingout.co.uk/ campaign for unpaid carers and the people they care for.

‍