±«Óãtv

bbc.co.uk Navigation


Britain's Matthew Pinsent winning his fourth gold at the 2004 Olympics (top) and receiving his medal

What can I tell you that you may not already know about Sir Matthew Pinsent?

That he has a lung capacity of eight-and-a-half litres, second only in Britain to fellow rower - for comparison, the average human has about a six litre capacity.

Or how about the eight tracks he would take on a desert island? Queen's We are the Champions may be a little predictable, but how about Californication by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers or the Opening of Delibes' ?

In rowing terms, there's probably little you don't know about .

He partnered Sir Steve Redgrave to coxless pairs gold at his first two Olympics in 1992 and 96 and with the help of Tim Foster, James Cracknell and Redgrave, Pinsent won his third gold in the coxless fours in Sydney.

A fourth gold followed in Athens four years ago, again in the coxless four, this time with Ed Coode, Cracknell and Steve Williams.

The victory margin was just eight one-hundredths of a second (top photo).

And rather than try to emulate Redgrave's five golds, at the age of 33, having won every Olympic event he entered.

Let us also not forget the record 10 world championship golds he bagged, including the unique achievement of winning the coxless and coxed pairs in 2001.

A true legend of British sport - what are your favourite Pinsent memories?

Peter Scrivener is a ±«Óãtv Sport Journalist. Our should answer any questions you have.


Comments

or to comment.

The ±«Óãtv is not responsible for the content of external internet sites