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GREAT OLYMPIC DUOS: THE SECRET BEHIND REDGRAVE AND PINSENT

“That was the reason – I was trying to prove myself against him and he was trying to hold the younger guy off. That became our schtick,” Pinsent said of a relationship that produced three Olympic titles and seven World Championship gold medals during 10 exhilarating but exhausting years.

“We would talk openly about it, the fact that we were very happy to compete against one another because by pushing each other we knew we were getting the best out of each other and then when we came together as a team, we had a lot of confidence in our fitness and ability. It was self-feeding and very positive.”

At 1.96m tall and blessed by bulk borne of years of good eating and schoolboy rowing, Pinsent had looked like a good match for Redgrave from the start. But it was character just as much as physical power which would prove critical for the 18-year-old, who was hoping to replace injured compatriot Simon Berrisford and join the already-legendary Redgrave.2