His physique, which grew to 6ft 4in and 16st 7lb, and exceptional heart and lung capacity, were made for rowing. Long levers and a big engine. Curiously, given his anti-social inclinations, extreme competitiveness and supreme blend of power and technique, he never made it as a single sculler. Redgrave made his international debut in the single sculls at the 1979 junior world championships. In 1983, as a senior, he competed in the world championships but performed miserably.
Failure spurs many champions.
He won his first gold medal and started the sequence that has made him the most successful oarsman of any nationality and the most decorated British Olympian in any discipline. For half his adult life, he has been governed by the four-year cycle of the Olympic calendar. After Los Angeles, Redgrave teamed up with Holmes to attempt the near impossible - winning gold medals in two events, the coxless and coxed pairs. This involved rowing eight races in seven days, including both semi-finals on the same day. In the 1987 world championships, they won gold in the coxless pair and silver in the coxed pair.