Double Olympic rowing champion Pete Reed could be forgiven for resting on his laurels after an illustrious career punctuated by gold medals.
Topping the podium at the Rio Games next year would seal his place among the greats of British sport – making him just the 14th Brit to claim three or more Olympic golds – yet the 34-year-old insists writing his name in the history books is the last thing on his mind.
With less than eight months to go until Rio, Reed ranks this Olympiad as the toughest yet for him and he knows he can’t afford to live off previous glories.
“I haven’t really thought about a third gold medal. That would put me right up there with the greats of Britain,” said Reed, who also has five World Championship titles in his medal collection.
“That seems staggering really because I am not a special guy I just row with good people, have a good coach and I work hard. That’s basically it.
“But this Olympiad has been the toughest of the three, it’s been rough, exceptionally tough.
“You get older and things get harder and I want nothing more than to get another Olympic gold medal, I will work as hard as I possibly can.
“I think the safest way to think about it is that it is still my first and what I do in training is not think about the other two.
“I talk about them when I’m asked to dig out some memories but I think it’s healthy to put those to bed and have that same hunger for a gold medal. That’s the kind of desire I need.” While Reed might be one of the most experienced athletes on the GB Rowing Team, he is under no illusions about the competition he faces from below with a host of youngsters coming through and challenging for spots in Rio.
And, with the teams not yet selected, he admits there is a battle on his hands to just to make it to the start line in South America.
“I’m a big part of the GB rowing team and I have been for a long time but I look around and there are amazing athletes,” added Reed, who has been working with advanced analytics specialists SAS to produce in-depth data designed to make Britain’s rowers even faster next summer.
“I am certainly not the best anymore, I’m just fighting for my spot because there are young guys who are hungry and they are tall and strong and there is no weakness there.
“I look around and my strength now is my experience, all through the team there is exceptional talent there.
“We are trying to get selected against these guys but soon we will be racing with them and trying to get the boat as fast as possible.”
Sportsbeat 2015