Ollie Cook has waited and waited to realise his Olympic dream but if 12 more months is all it takes, a little more patience won’t be too much to ask.
The rower was the non-travelling spare for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, coming heartbreakingly close to selection and needing to keep training at home in case a teammate became injured.
So when it came to working towards Tokyo 2020 and his outright spot at the Games, Cook was never going to leave anything to chance.
While his place in Japan wasn’t completely in the bag, selection for the summer’s World Cups had left him on the cusp of being selected for Team GB.
Then coronavirus struck – and a man who agonisingly missed out on Brazil was forced to keep on waiting for his shot at the Games.
"We had the Olympic team almost decided and settled just before lockdown begun, so you have this buzz and the great feeling, and at that time we didn't realise how severe the lockdown situation would be in our country,” said the 30-year-old.
"I felt frustrated that a lot of things were happening outside of our control. We'd gone through this process to be ready and training hard for a Games, only to be postponed.
Excited already 🔥⭐️ T-364 days @TeamGB @trueathleteproj @BritishRowing @EtonBridgePtrs https://t.co/ligdukij3n
— Ollie Cook (@olscook) July 23, 2020
"Just as we went into lockdown, I asked my sister to make me a cake to say "well done" for making it – she put candles spelling out ‘2021’ on it and said ‘congratulations on making a Games that aren't happening’, which was quite funny.
"I had to stay behind and didn't travel to Rio, but I had to keep on training at home through the Games in case anyone got injured or unwell.
"I had to stay fit and strong, and that was quite a lonely experience.”
The tough times have undoubtedly made Cook mentally stronger while an extra year on the water gives him the chance to do the same physically.
That goes for both he and the boat he is looking to qualify in, with few disciplines in few sports needing unity quite like the coxless four.
And with Team GB striking gold in the event in the past five games – right through from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016 – the weight of expectation also sits on the class of 2020’s shoulders.
But while Redgrave and Pinsent provide an aura in name alone, Cook is all about providing a new legacy over the next 12 months, instead of living up to the one that’s gone before.
He added: "We're four very different guys to people that have gone before us – we've got a different mentality, a different challenge and we're now looking forward to seeing how we can adapt to that in our way.
"We're lucky that the four of us have a great dynamic, we know we can follow in those footsteps.
"We can't win everything all the time, but we're able to get stuck into the process of giving ourselves.
"I started rowing and looked up to these Olympic champions. It just seemed to be so easy for them.
“But you realise that everyone goes through those difficulties and it’s about you adapting to them. We’ve got another year, there are positives and negatives, but it’s about making us a stronger, faster boat.”
Sportsbeat 2020