Born: 23 March, 1962
Country: Great Britain
Steve Redgrave is undoubtedly one of the greatest rowers the world has ever seen. He won a gold medal in the coxed fours in his first appearance at The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Four years later in Seoul he won another gold medal, this time in coxless pairs. In his third Olympics appearance at Barcelona he added another gold medal to his tally, again in the coxless pairs.
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, after winning his fourth gold in rowing, Steve Redgrave announced his retirement – “Anybody who sees me in a boat has my permission to shoot me.”
However on 23 September 2000 at the Sydney Olympics he stood once again with the British coxless fours team, attempting to win one more gold medal for his country. In a widely watched and tense finale Britain held on for victory by 0.38 seconds and Steve Redgrave won his fifth gold medal in five successive Olympics. He is one of only four Olympians to achieve this incredible feat.
Due to his astonishing performance at the Olympic Games, Sir Steve Redgrave is hailed as Britain’s greatest Olympian. He also won 9 gold medals at the Rowing World Championships. His total tally of 14 gold medals at Olympics and World Championships is unsurpassed by any other rower in history. In 2002, his achievement of winning gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games was voted the greatest sporting moment in Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.