China can be world's best in rowing, says British great Redgrave
China can be world's best in rowing, says British great Redgrave
TOKYO (AFP) - British great Steve Redgrave says China can become the world’s strongest rowing nation after guiding them to joint sixth in the medals table at the Olympic regatta.
Redgrave -- a five-time gold medallist -- was hired as China’s high performance director in 2018 and has masterminded three medals in Tokyo.
The Chinese coasted to gold in the women’s quadruple sculls, setting a new world record, and won bronze medals in the men’s double sculls and women’s eight.
It was a stark improvement on their performance at the 2016 Rio Games, where they finished joint 16th in the table with two bronze medals.
New Zealand topped the rowing medals table in Tokyo with three gold medals and two silver.
But Redgrave, 59, said on Friday China had a bright future in the sport.
"China has the athletes, has the resources, has some of the know-how to be the strongest rowing nation in the world," he said.
"I was brought in to get them there. We’re sixth in the table so we’ve still got a long way to go."
The British rower said the winning performance in the women’s quadruple sculls was "unbelievable" but the bronze in the blue-riband women’s eight would play a big role in inspiring people to take up the sport.
"That boosts their confidence so our team should go on from strength to strength," he said.
Redgrave, whose wife Ann works as the British team’s chief medical officer, is signed up with China until the 2024 Olympics.
"I’ll have to see," he said when asked about his future. "My contract is through to the Paris Olympics so I have to assess if my bosses still want me, if I have a future and we’ll have to see from there."
