Sir Steve Redgrave Tea Kookmaa Tallinn English College

Sir Steve Redgrave Tea Kookmaa Tallinn English College

Introduction n Sir Stephen Geoffrey Redgrave was born on 23 March 1962, in Marlow, England. He is an English rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000, three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold medals.

Achievements n Sir Redgrave’s primary strength was in sweep oared rowing, where he has the distinction of being one of the few oarsmen to have won Olympic Gold rowing both bowside and strokeside (starboard and port). n From 1991 onwards, Redgrave, He also enjoyed success in and the crews in which he indoor rowing, winning the World Championship for Indoor rowed, became renowned for Rowing in 1991. He was also a their consistent dominance. They successful single sculler set themselves apart from many winning the Wingfield Sculls other internationally successful five times between 1985 and 1989, but not quite a world crews by winning almost every champion class single sculler. time they raced.

Achievements Sir Redgrave was an outstanding competitor at Henley Royal Regatta over twenty years. He won the Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Cup for coxless pairs seven times, the Stewards’ Challange Cup for coxless fours five times, the Diamond Challange Sculls twice, the Double Sculls Challange Cup once (with Eric Sims) and the Queen Mother Challange Cup for quadruple sculls once.

Challenges One of the reasons why Sir Steve Redgrave can be considered Britain’s greatest Olympian is due to having been successful despite several challenges. n For much of his career, Redgrave battled against severe illnesses. n He has fought against lifelong dyslexia. In 1992, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Despite that, he had continued to train for a considerable time prior to diagnosis. In late 1997, diabetes was added to his list of ailments.

Medals and awards 14 total Olympic and World Championship gold medals The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1987 (member MBE) and CBE (commander) in 1997 He became a Knight Bachelor in 2001 In 2002, his achievement of winning gold medals at five consecutive Olympic games was voted the greatest sporting moment in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments 1996 - Winner of UK Celebrity Gladiators 2000 - BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Appearances in public Now off the water, in addition to maintaining a busy schedule as an afterdinner and motivational speaker, Steve is absorbed in commericial projects, his range of Fairtrade menswear, and mentoring his Team. Visa hopefuls as they progress towards their target of competing in the 2012 London Olympics.

Charity n He also starred in Top Gear Ground Force for Sport Relief in 2008, where the Top Gear Team took on Ground Force with predictable results, and trashed his garden. n Steve has also launched his own Fairtrade Cotton Brand of Clothing called Five. G which is sold in Debenhams department stores. Sir Steve is committed to providing a better deal for the Third World through both his Five. G clothing range and the Sir Steve Redgrave Charity Trust.

The Steve Redgrave Fund When setting up his own charity, Redgrave wanted to target social problems affecting many children today, concentrating on the problems of social exclusion, low confidence and obesity. It does this through child involvement in sport, sharing funds with Sport Relief. He set the Fund up because, in his own words, “when I retired I wanted to make quite a big impact. ” The success of the Steve Redgrave Fund has been extremely encouraging. “We’re six and a half years into it now, and we’ve raised over five and a half million. ” This exceeds the five million pound target set by Sir Steve himself. The effects have been very encouraging, and the Fund has “supported over 400 community based projects. ” Redgrave describes the whole experience as “very rewarding. ”

The End It's not always a bed of roses, but the blend of characters makes the strength of the team. -Sir Steve Redgrave