WHEN Matthew Pinsent and the crew of the coxless four crossed the finish line in gold-medal position at the Athens Olympics last summer, their thoughts turned immediately to an absent friend. Missing from the boat that day was Alex Partridge, who had been part of the original line-up before suffering a collapsed lung while competing in Switzerland two months’ earlier.

That his Great Britain team-mates named their boat after him — “so that he would cross the finish line first” — spoke volumes for the respect in which he was held and the sympathy that was felt for his plight. Replaced by Ed Coode, who, like Pinsent, has since retired, Partridge watched wistfully from afar, though refusing to succumb to any sense of self-pity. His delight for their success was unconfined.

Since then, the 23-year-old has steadily regained his fitness and is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. By April, he hopes to prove at the Great Britain trials that he is back to his best and to secure a seat in the coxless fours or pairs for the world championships in Japan in August. From there, it will be a three-year run-in to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

At the Leander Club, in Henley-on Thames, yesterday, Partridge outlined his plans and announced a sponsorship deal that he hopes will help him on his way. For at least the next year, and probably beyond, he will be backed by the online insurance broker, InsureYourMotor.com.

Although coy about how much the deal is worth, Partridge acknowledged that it would go a long way towards helping him to re-establish himself at the top of the sport.

“It’s a fantastic deal that will allow me to concentrate on the areas I need to focus on,” he said. “If I need to spend more money on support, or I need to go on a training camp somewhere, this sponsorship will enable me to do that. I don’t regard what happened in the summer as unfair — it just wasn’t meant to be. But I know now that I can get there if I work hard enough.”