Nothing but London 2012 gold will do for Rowbotham

By Gerard Meagher, Sportsbeat

ROWER Stephen Rowbotham insists only gold will do at the London Olympics after revealing his Beijing bronze is just a reminder of what could have been.

 BORN WINNER: Stephen Rowbotham (left) will not settle for anything other than gold at London 2012

Rowbotham, 27, and Matthew Wells were third in the double sculls in the Far East as the Australian boat took gold ahead of the Estonia double.

But while winning Olympic bronze is no mean feat, the 2006 World Championship bronze medallist admits it will always resemble what might have been after four years of hard work, and substantial funding, pre-Beijing.

And while Rowbotham is looking forward to next year's World Championship, and everything else that takes place in the 1000 days between now and the 2012 Games, he admitted everything is now geared towards topping the Olympic podium.

"It will be all about gold for me in London," said Rowbotham. "The kind of person that I am, I don't race to come second. When I was out in Beijing and we crossed the line in third it was a massive disappointment.

"It can be quite hard to explain to people that you've got an Olympic medal in your pocket but still, you're gutted.

"But ultimately winning is the goal. But first things first.  I need to get myself in a position prior to the Games where I'm confident I can tell people I'm going to be a gold medallist.

"If I'm ranked 15th in the world and telling people I'm going to win gold that just isn't realistic.  However,  having got bronze in Beijing, I'm confident I can push on."

Rowbotham - whose bronze helped Team GB top the rowing medal table with six - recently enjoyed a trip to the Olympic stadium as the rowing representative for the official launch of Team 2012.

The Beijing star admitted the lure of a home Games meant retirement had never crossed his mind.  He revealed that seeing the stadium taking shape had increased his desire to turn bronze in to gold.

He added: "I managed to go to the Beijing Olympic site a few years before and that really put the Games into focus for me and going to the London Olympic site had exactly the same effect.

"Anyone who thought they were going to retire after Beijing clearly had second thoughts because it's in London.

"This will only come around once in 100 years so to potentially be a part of it is exciting in itself. But it also focuses the mind and makes you eager to perform to the best of your abilities.

"It's not like we're competing in front of 90,000 people every week. We're not Manchester United, we're still an amateur sport and the pinnacle of our sport comes around once every four years."

Lloyds TSB, proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to London 2012