I had the pleasure to meet one of Britain’s Olympic greats, rower Sir Matthew Pinsent, at Berkhamsted last week and posted this picture of the two of us on my Facebook page.
Many cheeky wits suggested it could be a scene from the movie Twins (no prizes for guessing would be Arnie Schwarzenegger and who would be Danny De Vito).
While there are a few obvious differences between myself and the 6 foot 5 Sir Matthew, we have one thing in common – a passion for sport.
Hearing him speak at a sporting dinner at the Gatsby Restaurant about rowing and winning four gold medals was inspirational.
I am a keen cyclist and am training for the Manchester to London Cycle Ride Challenge – a 250-mile challenge to be completed in 24 hours.
Sir Matthew’s speech certainly provided me with added motivation for my training ride the next day – 85km much of it through heavy wind.
I hope to keep up the momentum and am planning a 150km cycle from Kings Langley to Brighton later this month with my event co-rider Helen Grosscurth.
Sir Matthew is definitely up there on my list of favourite British Olympians. Let me know who makes your list of favourite athletes.
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