British rower Steve Redgrave entered Olympic history by winning his fifth consecutive gold medal. Redgrave won his gold alongside Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell in the coxless fours on Day Eight of the Olympic Games in Sydney.
The crowd of 22,000 dominated by British fans, let out a roar of triumph and relief after a thrilling and nail-biting race that saw the British crew win by less than half a second ahead of their closest rivals Italy at Penrith Lakes.
Pinsent fell into the water as he rushed over to hug his fellow oarsmen and Redgrave slumped over his oars in exhaustion. It was Pinsent’s third successive Olympic gold and a first for Foster and Cracknell.
After the race, Redgrave reportedly said to his crewmates, “Remember these six minutes for the rest of your lives. Listen to the crowd and take it all in. This is the stuff of dreams.”
The four Britons took the title over the 2,000-metres course in five minutes and 56.24 seconds, beating the Italians by just 0.38 seconds. His father, wife and three children were overcome with emotion as they watched Redgrave make sporting history.
The 38-year-old rower has had a glittering career winning the coxed four gold in Los Angeles in 1984 and the coxless pair gold in Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996. He has a CBE for services to rowing, adding to the MBE he received 10 years ago.
