Foster's new goal

Olympic gold medallist Tim Foster, now a Great Britain coach, joined us to answer your questions.

real 14k Click here to listen to Tim

---

Tim Foster will forever be remembered for his part in the coxless four that secured an historic fifth Olympic gold for Steve Redgrave in Sydney.

There is also an Olympic bronze medal from 1996, as well as two world titles out of a total of seven World Championship medals.

Foster says his ambition now is to coach a British rower to a gold medal in Athens in 2004.

real 14k Click here to listen to Tim

---

Tim, your days as a competitor are over and you're moving on to pastures new, tell us what your immediate plans are.

I'm going into coaching. I got the opportunity when I decided to retire - the chief coach Jurgen Grobler and the team manager David Tanner offered me a place in the coaching team. I'll be an assistant coach and learning with Jurgen Grobler as my mentor.

This morning was my first morning out coaching with the team, including some of the guys I rowed with before! So it was interesting, and quite exciting!

---

Lucy, UK

Tim, apart from winning gold last year, what have been the most memorable moments from your rowing career?

Good question! In the early days, the memorable moments were turning up to a squad trial, not expecting anything, and beating everyone there. That was when they first spotted me as a talent. And I've got memeories of sinking in Brazil - we were in the middle of the Amazon, and I found myself chest deep in water, swimming along with the piranhas!

Essentially it has been a fantastic career, I've had 12 years on the international side of things, 16 years of rowing itself, it has been good fun. There have been the lows as well as the highs, but I've been lucky enough to be successful, and have a lot of happy memories.

---

Graham, England

I row for my school and know what a tough sport rowing is! With this in mind, do you think the sport gets enough coverage in this country?

I think things are getting better. Because of our exploits in Sydney, and because of Steve Redgrave, rowing is becoming more well known. For years it was under-represented because people maybe had an idea that rowing was about drifting down the river on a sunny day, but then they realised it was about hard work, dedication, training and professionalism, and people do appreciate it more now.

It's quite an exciting time for rowing - all of a sudden it is being reported on, in the papers and on TV. It will be interesting to see where it goes. It is never going to be the next football, but it is nice it gets more respect - I think it deserves it.

---

Anne Harrison, UK

What makes a great cox?

Well, the minimum weight for a cox is 55 kilos, and for every kilo more than that they would slow the boat down about a second, so they have to be there or thereabouts for one thing. They need to have the ability to control the crew, they're in the one position where they can dominate the crew. And they have to be clear and controlled and knowledgeable.

It's quite a difficult role, they don't just sit there and shout go! There is quite an art to it. Rowley Douglas, cox of the British eights at the Oympics who got the gold medal, was a fantastic cox, and as much a part of the team as the eight guys doing the physical exercise.

---

Shades, UK

You were acknowledged to be the best technician in last year's gold-winning crew. With this in mind, who do you think gave you the most help in achieving this accolade?

I think they only gave that to me because I was the weakest, to give me something to be proud of! On a serious note, when I was at school I was lucky to have a couple of good coaches who were very enthusiastic, and gave me the opportunity to get into a boat and go and try things out. Tim Lucas was probably the first person to spot me, and David Berry, they were at my school. Coaching wise, I've been lucky again, to work with Jurgen Grobler and Steve Gunn, guys who've encouraged me to keep improving.

---

Kevin, Swindon.

Tim, you've said your ambition is to coach a British oarsman to an Olympic title. Who are the up and coming faces in British rowing?

It is a very exciting time. We've got a lot of gold medallists; we were lucky enough with the fours and the eights at Sydney, and there were two guys in the pair, Ed Coode and Greg Searle, who just missed out on a medal.

There is a lot of talent around. Henry Adams and Dan Ouseley are coming through the under-23 group at the moment, and showing great potential. And I suppose it is up to coaches like myself to bring that potential into fruition in years to come! But there is a good system now, and you could honestly say that men's rowing in Britain at the moment is the best in the world.

---

Luke Surry, Brighton.

To an outsider, you always had the look of a maverick when compared to Redgrave and co. Was it quite a spicy mix of characters?

That is a good question! It was a fantastic team to be in, with four really different individuals. We're all great friends. Matthew and Steve are maybe more reserved, and James and myself are probably quite different to them, but all four of us were aiming for the same thing. We all worked together and had great fun doing it - between us we developed a fairly strange sense of humour!

But I'm not necessarily a conformist, so it is quite odd to be in a team sport where the essence of it is to conform and match the three around you, and yet when I was out of the boat I wanted to do the opposite! I'm sure there's a lot of tales the others could tell you! But it was great, and in that end we had this bond, and even when we meet up now, we've always got something in common. We're actually trying to arrange for the four of us to go out for a curry - we need to go out together and have a bit of fun, develop some social skills!

---

Linda, UK

How difficult has the last year been for you and what sort of support have you been given?

In the last year there's still been the feel-good factor after the Olympics, it's been incredible. But the other side for me was the injuries. I had the ambition to carry on for Athens 2004 and it was frustrating, but the retirement has drawn a line under that. But I can look back and been happy with what I've achieved. I'm not sitting here disappointed with the past year!

And that post-Olympic feeling, that will always be with me. It was something I always thought it would be one moment, and it has been a year and fifteen months, and it looks like it will be there for a lifetime. So, in short, the last year has been fantastic and I wouldn't change it!

---

Nigel Montgomery, Essex

Rowing has the reputation for being an exclusive sport for rich people. I'd love to get into the sport, but how do I go about it?

It has had that reputation. People see Henley Regatta or the boat race, and think it is for public schoolboys. It isn't like that, you can go on a rowing machine at your local gym for a start. You do need a rowing club in you area, a river, but you'd be surprised how many clubs there are around the country.

You don't need to buy the equipment first off, just use the club equipment, just get yourself there the chances are they'll put you on the water, and you can find out if you enjoy it. That's how I started! I just rowed for fun, found it was something I enjoyed, and it turned into something I was good at! But you don't need to spend a lot of money to get involved, just get yourself down there.

---