Grainger desperate for gold to complete her set in swansong Olympics

Posted: Wednesday 6th August 2008 | 17:39

KATHERINE GRAINGER blushes when described as the female Steve Redgrave but there is no doubting her position as Britain's most decorated woman rower.

Four-times a world champion and twice an Olympic silver medalist, the 33-year old is seeking a fitting and triumphant end to a storied career and a decade at the summit of her demanding sport.

In a ying and yang land of contrasts - griping poverty and new world wealth - the Glaswegian is acutely aware of the difference between the glory of gold and sorrow of silver.

"I'm proud of both my silver medals but I also remember how I felt immediately after those races - being so close to gold is very hard to take," said Grainger, the undisputed skipper of Britain's women's quadruple sculls crew.

"Coming second is not good enough and I'm not shy about what this crew is aiming for.

"We've won the last three World Championships but I'd would love an Olympic gold above everything else."

They may be watching from the riverbank but the looming presence of Redgrave and Pinsent still hangs as heavy as the smoggy haze that continues to cloak the Olympic rowing venue at Shunyi.

This is a sport where national expectation doesn't just expect, it demands, new names will soon deliver on their golden legacy.

Until Grainger's success in Sydney, Britain had never won a women's rowing medal - but this time around the women's squad is arguably stronger than their male counterparts.

She will be joined by Debbie Flood, Frances Houghton and Annie Vernon in a crew that will be the flagship of an armada of British medal challengers.

It's a well-balanced, well-drilled and well-established team for whom familiarity has only bred success.

"We've been together for a whole now and that really helps," adds Grainger.

"There is not a lot we can say to each other now - we know what is needed.

"We keep things simple, that our secret. On the startline it will be deathly quiet in our boat - the occasion speaks for itself."

Double Olympic champion James Cracknell can certainly empathise with the emotions surging through Grainger as she prepares to start her campaign this Sunday.

He witnessed first hand the groaning pressure Redgrave endured to capture a historic fifth gold in Sydney, before helping Pinsent to a fourth Olympic title four years later.

"If anyone deserves an Olympic gold in the British team, it's Katherine," he said."She's an outstanding athlete and a figure everyone looks to in the women's squad - much like Steve Redgrave and Matt Pinsent were in the men's team.

"But there are no certainties in sport and being favourites, especially at home, will add pressure at the worlds.

"The sport has lost it two big personalities with Steve and Matthew's retirement but Katherine and the girls could be the new stars.

"World titles are important but it's just another part of the journey - the goal for them should be the Olympics.

"We've never won an Olympic gold in women's rowing and it's about time that we did. It would be a massive boast to the sport and it would only get more people involved and motivated for 2012."

Grainger hasn't made any decisions about her long-term future - perhaps fearing a Redgrave style retirement might be followed by a Frank Sinatra style comeback.

She will spend the days after the Games planning a long and deserved holiday before putting the final touches to her PhD on homicide.

It would be a crime if she did so as anything else but an Olympic champion.

JAMES TONEY in Beijing