Pinsent's final masterstroke

By Sarah Holt

MATTHEW PINSENT FACTFILE Born: 10/10/1970 in Dorset Rowing honours: Olympic coxless pairs gold (1992, 1996) world gold (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001) world bronze (1990) Olympic coxless fours gold (2000, 2004) world gold (1998, 1999) World coxed pairs gold (2001, 2002) Personal honours: MBE, CBE

Ask the average person on the street to name a rower and the answer would almost certainly be Sir Steve Redgrave.

Press for another name and you might hear Matthew Pinsent - but to suggest Pinsent is second best does not do justice to his career accomplishments.

True, his decision to retire and not target a fifth Olympic title in Beijing in 2008 leaves him one short of Redgrave's golden haul.

But Pinsent's own quartet of golds make him Britain's second most successful Olympian - behind Redgrave, but ahead of such luminaries as Lord Sebastian Coe and Daley Thompson.

Pinsent, whose first taste of gold came at the 1991 World Championships, has spent much of his career in Redgrave's shadow.

But victory in Athens in the men's coxless fours - with James Cracknell, Ed Coode and Steve Williams - put Pinsent firmly centrestage.

It had the romantics baying for an attempt to equal Redgrave's fifth Olympic title.

Yet Pinsent's untypical display of emotion at the medal ceremony revealed both what the victory meant to him and what it had cost him.

And the four-time Olympic champion has decided to call it a day on that high note.

BBC Sport examines what gave Pinsent the golden touch in a long and distinguished career.

STICKING HIS OAR IN

You can bet Pinsent was pulling for home the hardest when he, Redgrave, Cracknell and Tim Foster pipped the Italians by 0.28 seconds to the 2000 Olympic coxless fours medal in the blistering Sydney sunshine.

The 34-year-old was regarded as the key to that historic victory - the anchorman, who provided the boat's muscle.

At 6ft 5in Pinsent, who could have been a professional rugby player, was a tower of strength.

And he was able to feed his aching muscles when it counted with oxygen from his lungs which have the largest capacity ever recorded in Britain - eight-and-a-half litres.

Pinsent's physical power was illustrated at the World Championships in Lucerne in 2001.

With less than two hours between each race, he and Cracknell powered their way to an unequalled golden double, winning both the men's coxless pairs and the coxed pairs.

MENTAL STRENGTH

When Redgrave invited the 19-year-old Pinsent to partner him in 1990, any other teenager might have been intimidated by a man 10 years his senior with two Olympic gold medals in the bag.

Pinsent (right) refused to be intimidated by Redgrave's achievements

Not Pinsent - a model of amiable politeness, he was nevertheless hungry for success and unshakeably confident in his own ability.

"I was determined not to play second fiddle to Steve," he said. "I had to give as good as I got."

That same proud determination showed in Athens when he gave the coxless four's performance in the heats a six out of 10 and demanded improvement, citing gold could only be gained with more "aggression and confidence".

A determination to take pride in whatever he does also prompted the articulate Pinsent to become one of the few sportsmen not to have relied on a ghostwriter to pen his autobiography, A Lifetime in a Race, which was shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year.

TEAM SPIRIT

Pinsent has always thrived on being part of a team - whether carrying his country's flag at the 2000 Olympic opening ceremony (after winning a squad vote) or urging on his crew in the men's coxless fours.

And despite his willingness to criticise his team-mates if he felt their efforts were not up to scratch, he always managed to retain their respect.

He remains close friends with Redgrave and is a godfather to both his and Cracknell's children.

His level-headed leadership has also earned Pinsent respect outside of his sporting achievements.

And it would serve him well should he decide to devote more time to his burgeoning career in sports politics.

Until recently the Henley-based rower was a member of the International Olympic Committee, and he is actively involved in London's bid to stage the 2012 Olympics.

TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY

Victory in Athens reduced to the usually implacable Pinsent to tears

Pinsent, a self-confessed hypochondriac, might not have made it to Athens at all.

He missed the Great Britain trials with tonsillitis and admitted to constantly having health checks in Greece.

His nerves and focus were also tested in February when he and Cracknell were dropped from the coxless pairs and pulled into the fours once again.

Pinsent was again forced to adapt when Alex Partridge was forced out of the fours with a collapsed lung in July and replaced by Coode.

The Greek omens did not look good but Pinsent remained unflappable and rose to the challenge - until the medal ceremony when the old Etonian's stiff upper lip dissolved into a flood of tears.

It was to prove one of the images of the Athens Olympics - and a touching way to bow out after a golden career.