FEBRUARY 24
On Jürgen Grobler, the Great Britain chief coach, revealing that Pinsent and James Cracknell, the 2002 world pairs champions, will move to the coxless fours.
“When Jürgen called the meeting it might have been for any number of housekeeping things, but as soon as he opened his mouth you could tell it was going to be big. He explained that he felt the four was the best option for the team and that James and I were going to be in it. Hammer blow to everyone in the room. Lives changed dramatically at that moment. But Jürgen was far from done. Without pausing, he explained that he wanted Josh (West) and Steve (Williams) to be in the four with us. Bomb delivered, the meeting ended, quietly as it happens, but polar in reaction when it had time to sink in.”
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APRIL 12
On missing the Olympic trials because of tonsillitis.
“I am spending the Easter weekend in traditional non-sporting fashion: home cooking, chocolate eggs and lie-ins. But I catch myself watching the phone and waiting, like a soldier’s family, for news from abroad.”
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MAY 31
On losing to the Canadians at the Munich World Cup regatta.
“We are an anomaly in the fours field — full of promise but no track record. With a solid win from the Canadians here we certainly haven’t scared them.”
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JUNE 21
On finishing third at the World Cup regatta in Lucerne.
“I would put us a few weeks behind schedule but in the life-span of our project we are short of a mid-life crisis. We have a long list of things to improve and to attack and the opposition may have fewer. That’s good for us, I promise. We will push our bronze medals into the furnace; with mileage and weight training the alchemy is tried and tested. When we win in Athens we will look back to the time at altitude as one of the reasons why.”
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JULY 5
On the news that Alex Partridge, the No 3 man, had suffered a punctured lung.
“To begin with, I felt dejected by the whole scenario. I thought: ‘How can we possibly win now?’ Then I began thinking of trying to rescue the situation: ‘A bronze or a silver would be a great result now’ kind of approach. But I have never settled for anything less than the best. I have rowed so badly as to have not deserved a medal, I have rowed myself and the crew into a tired and dejected position where winning was impossible, but gone out to try to win a silver? No, never.”