Matt Wells
DOB: 19/4/1979 Event: Rowing Boat: Double Scull Flag: GBR
Last Updated: 28/11/11 2:46pm
The Bradford-born rower, who will be 33 when the Games begin, made his Olympic debut way back at Sydney 2000 having impressed in the junior ranks and went on to finish a creditable ninth in the single scull.
Four years later Wells earned selection in the double with Matthew Langridge but despite their valiant efforts, the duo just missed out on the final by a hair's breadth before going on to claim a moral win in the 'B' race.
However, it was his next partnership with Stephen Rowbotham which helped him make the breakthrough at elite level as they powered their boat to World Championship bronze in 2006 and then repeated the feat at the Beijing Olympics two years later.
This was the first Olympic sculling medal for British men since 1976 but was so very nearly silver as Estonia edged them out by just five-hundredths of a second, with Australia taking the gold.
Wells and Bateman - nicknamed 'The Red Express' due to both rowers having red hair - teamed up in 2010 and made an instant impact by winning two World Cup golds and a silver at the World Championships in New Zealand.
Unfortunately Bateman suffered a bout of sickness the night before the World Championship final in Slovenia in 2011, which undoubtedly contributed to their sixth-place finish, but they'll be settling for nothing less than a place on the podium at London 2012.
