Redgrave carries the torch but will he light the flame? Photo courtesy of London 2012 / LOCOG
One of the searches that most frequently leads people to Girl on the River is the question, “Is rowing hard?” Daley Thompson doesn’t seem to think so; in the rather unseemly row that has developed over who will light the Olympic flame, he rather dismissed Steve Redgrave’s sporting prowess. “Steve Redgrave is not in the same class as Seb Coe”, he said. “He is a rower, but I think track and field is the toughest sport in the Olympics, which means the rewards are greater.”
Now look. I’ve never attempted decathlon - I can’t throw, I can’t catch and I run like a disjointed spider – and I hugely admire those who are good at it. But I can tell you this. Rowing is hard – really, really hard. It’s one of the very few sports in which the winners are too exhausted to celebrate at the end. Slumped over their blades, the most they can usually manage is a bit of gentle splashing. And anyone who can face competing at Olympic level, with all the pain and sacrifice that that entails, for as long as Sir Steve managed it will always be a hero in my books. Hope that clears things up.
