One of the most famous sports personalities in the UK is a rower called ‘Steve Redgrave’. He won 5 gold medals in 5 Olympic games from 1984 - 2000. He is the UK’s greatest Olympic athlete.

Early life and starting to row

Steve was born in a town called Marlow outside London on the banks of the river Thames. He first started rowing when his English teacher asked his class if anyone wanted to try rowing, Steve thought he would prefer it to being in school. A few months later in Bristol, he won his first race and he was hooked.

Olympic success

Steve’s first Olympic games were in 1984 in Los Angeles where he won a gold medal in a four-man rowing race. From then on, until 2000, he and his team continued to dominate the sport of rowing and he won five gold medals in the five Olympics that he competed in.

What Steve does today

Steve officially retired from rowing in 2000 but that doesn’t mean he stopped working. He started a charity called The Steve Redgrave Fund which helps young people get fit and become interested in sport. So far, he has raised more than £5 million pounds for the charity. He also works with the British charity Sport Relief.

London 2012

Of course, Sir Steve has also been very involved with the London 2012 Olympics. He is an official ambassador to the UK team and will help mentor British athletes taking part in the Games. He is also the ‘Sports Legacy Champion’ and will help to make sure that people in the UK continue to be interested in sport and build on the Olympics after the Games have finished.

Why is he called ‘Sir’ Steve Redgrave?

The Queen of England gives special honours to people in the UK who do amazing things. She makes them ‘knights’ at a special ceremony and these people have the title ‘Sir’ before their name. Steve became Sir Steve in 2001.

小编:英国运动员史蒂芬·雷德格雷夫是历史上最伟大的赛艇运动员,他是唯一一位在连续五届奥运会上都夺取金牌的赛艇运动员:1984年美国洛杉矶夏季奥运会上,他夺取四人有舵赛艇金牌;1988年韩国汉城奥运会上,雷德格雷夫与安德鲁合作夺得双人单桨无舵赛艇金牌;1992年西班牙巴塞罗纳奥运会上他们卫冕成功;1996年美国亚特兰大夏季奥运会比赛中,他们实现双人单桨无舵赛艇奥运三连冠;在2000年澳大利亚悉尼夏季奥运会上,38岁的雷德格雷夫和队友一起夺得四人无舵赛艇金牌,这也是他获得的第五枚奥运金牌。从1996年到1999年间,雷德格雷夫在他参加的每一届世界锦标赛中也都能夺取奖牌,他总共曾九次加冕世界冠军。