THE golden legacy lives on. British rowing’s coxless four gasped for breath in the muggy Beijing air and stretched every sinew yesterday to snatch victory in the event for the third Olympics in a row.

With their predecessors Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent looking on from the bank, the GB crew hauled themselves back into the race from almost a boat length down to overtake Australia in the last 250 metres.

The crew showed grit and determination to bounce back from a disappointing 12 months in which they had been bedevilled by injuries. Yesterday’s final was only the fifth time they had raced together in this formation.

Peter Reed, 27, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, sitting in the “three seat”, used what is said to be the largest lung capacity ever recorded - 11.68 litres, nearly double the normal person’s - to power his team into the final winning effort.

Stroking the boat, the blond-haired Andy Hodge, who does his training while listening to tracks such as Fistful of Steel from rock band Rage Against the Machine, crashed through his pain barrier.

Hodge, who like Reed studied for a master’s degree at Oxford, said: “I always thought we had another gear but I never believed we could do that.”

Steve Williams, the only surviving member of the 2004 winning crew, said: “I didn’t realise we were ahead until very close to the finish. I just had a sniff that we could do it in the last 200 metres. The last 10, 15 strokes were absolutely phenomenal. It was beyond skill, it was just something primeval.”

The newest recruit, Tom James, at 24 a veteran of four boat races for Cambridge, sat in the bow and was first over the line in a time of 6 minutes 6.57 seconds, less than a second ahead of the Australians.

Reed, who saw active service on HMS Exeter during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was nicknamed “the commander” at Oxford University boat club, said: “I’m so relieved and happy. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone out to do by a long way. We were really on the ropes. It was the best finish we’ve ever put together.” In all, 10 British boats are contesting this weekend’s rowing finals. With five racing today, the rowers are already well on their way to meet the team target of four medals to secure lottery funding for the 2012 Games.

Earlier, Elise Laverick and Anna Bebington had delivered the first of two bronze medals for Britain, producing a storming surge in a dramatic finish to the women’s doubles sculls. Then Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham, once a promising tennis player, came third in the men’s double sculls.

Reed draped himself in the Union Jack for the gold medal ceremony. It may not be as enduring an image as Pinsent, wreathed in laurels and weeping tears of joy and relief in Athens after his fourth gold medal, but it has made him an instant poster boy for the navy.

Captain Mike Davis-Marks, from the Ministry of Defence, said: “The Royal Navy is absolutely thrilled that all his endeavour and hard work have paid off with a gold medal.”

Reed must now return to his naval duties. Wars permitting, he hopes he can lead the crew to another Olympic victory on Eton’s boating lake in 2012. He said: “I would love to do it all over again. It’s not down to me but I hope we can come to some sort of arrangement.”