WITH Wimbledon looming and the nation mourning the lack of credible contenders, Steve Rowbotham would be forgiven for seeking out the racket that was once the scourge of the Gloucestershire junior circuit. Then he remembers the feeling of despair that engulfed him before the last Olympics, and the score that must be settled in Beijing next year.

He trained every day for four years to row in Athens and is still staggered by how swiftly his dreams were shattered when he didn’t make the team. But Rowbotham and his rowing partner, Matt Wells, have moved swiftly into contention for Olympic gold next summer after a winter of brutal intensity and a victory in the opening World Cup regatta of the season in Linz.

Today, in the final of the second World Cup regatta, in Amsterdam, they will aim to frank that form in an event long dominated by the French world champions and the extraordinary Slovenian double of Iztok Cop and Luka Spik. In Linz, the French were routed by a performance of controlled aggression through the hard yards in the middle of the 2,000m race, a style of racing that takes guts.

Does he regret switching sports? “I could have earned more if I’d stuck with tennis, but rowing is a fantastic sport,” he says. “If I win Olympic gold, I’ll have it for the rest of my life, whether I’m paid £10 or £10m.”

World Cup regatta, today, BBC2, 4pm

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