Sir Steve Redgrave was in fine form the other night at the official announcement of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Winter Olympics team, which he attended as an official ambassador for the team. Let's be honest, who wouldn't want the five time gold medallist and total legend attached to your Olympic team? It wasn't too long ago that nobody really cared about the Winter Olympics in this country, unless you were in to Torvill and Dean, or Eddie the Eagle? It seems we have come a long way. London's white Somerset House was used as a giant screen as union jacks and footage of winter Olympians in action were displayed before the athletes were introduced on the ice rink.But what's Steve's link towinter sports? Well, apart from the fact that he reckons he's a half decent downhill skier (and you'd want to get well out ofhis way if you saw his bulk hurtling down the mountain at you) he also narrowly missed out on selection for the British Winter Olympics team in 1988 in the four-man bobsleigh, something he still chunters on about. The fact that he went on to win two medals at the Seoul Olympics that same summerdoesn't prevent his wistful thoughts at what might have been. Knowing him heprobably would have won a Winter medal, as well. He doesn't particularly need it for his CV, though. He is, and will most likely always be, our greatest Olympian ever.
