Reed wants two in a Row

Reed: Permission to row on

I love training, I love rowing and I have a really good time with the guys.

Peter Reed
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Olympic rowing champion Peter Reed has confirmed he will compete through to London 2012 after receiving the full backing of his superiors in the Royal Navy.

Lieutenant Reed was a member of the victorious British men's four which produced a storming finish to win gold in dramatic fashion in Beijing.

The Navy had originally agreed to support Reed's Olympic quest up until this year, when he was due back on duty as a serving officer.

But after returning from Beijing Reed was determined to continue until London 2012, and his bosses took no persuading.

"The original agreement was made before the gold medal and before London were awarded the 2012 Games," said Reed.

Privilige

"When I came back from Beijing I had a meeting with my bosses in Portsmouth about what the possibilities were for carrying on.

"It was a very one-sided meeting. I had an overwhelming amount of support from the most senior admirals in the service.

"They will carry on supporting me through to 2012 and help me try to achieve another gold medal and defend my title.

"It will be a special thing to compete in front of my home crowd at an Olympic Games. It would be a great privilege."

Two of Reed's crew-mates from Beijing, Andy Triggs-Hodge and Tom James, have both indicated their plans to carry on until London.

Hard work

Steve Williams, a double Olympic champion following his success in Athens, is still undecided - not surprising given the commitment involved.

Reed admitted: "I love training, I love rowing and I have a really good time with the guys. But in private it is scary to think of the pain and how much I will have to put my body through over the next four years.

"Four years ago feels like a lifetime and I know I will have to put in a lot of hard work for a long time to put in the performance I want in London.

"It is good to have had time to reflect on winning a gold medal. I sat with it on my sofa one day and just thought about everything that had gone into it.

"That did make it a bit easier to decide I wanted to carry on."