Rowing is one of Britain’s most successful Olympic sports with the GB Rowing Team winning 24 gold, 20 silver and 10 bronze medals in the history of the Olympic Games up to and including Beijing in 2008. It is the only GB sport to have won gold at every Games since 1984.

The greatest British Olympian of all time is rower Sir Steve Redgrave who won five Olympic gold medals in five successive Games for GB between 1984 in Los Angeles and 2000 in Sydney as well as a bronze in 1988 - an unprecedented feat in an endurance sport.

Rowing made its Olympic debut in 1900 after bad weather in 1896 prevented it from featuring at the very first Games. Women’s rowing was introduced at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, lightweight events at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and adaptive rowing was added to the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

The 2008 Olympic Games was GB Rowing Team’s most successful Games of the modern era with two golds, two silvers and two bronze medals – making them the top rowing nation.

Steve Williams, Tom James, Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge won gold in the four in Beijing, carrying on the strong tradition of the boat which has now won gold in the last three Olympic Games (2000, 2004 and 2008), while Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase triumphed in the lightweight double – GB’s first ever Olympic lightweight medal.

GB’s most decorated female rower, Katherine Grainger, from Scotland, has won three silver medals at three successive Olympic Games - including GB’s first women’s rowing medal in 2000 - and aged 35 is aiming for her fourth Olympic Games. Grainger is now a six-time World Champion after winning gold at the 2011 World Championships in the double scull with Anna Watkins.

The 1908 Olympic regatta, held in Henley, is the GB Rowing Team’s most successful Olympic Games to date, with four golds and eight medals in all – eight years after Britain won its first rowing medal in the sport’s debut at the 1900 Games.

Redgrave’s crew-mate in 1992, 1996, and 2000, Sir Matthew Pinsent, also holds an impressive four gold medals in four successive Olympic Games for GB from 1992 to 2004. Their legacy was recognised at the opening of the GB Rowing Team’s purpose-built training facility in Caversham in 2006 with the naming of the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake.

Among those hoping to win selection for the 2012 Games are 1992 Olympic gold medallist Greg Searle who returned to the sport after a 10-year break to try and win a medal in London aged 40.

Beijing bronze medallist Matt Wells and two-times Olympic silver medallist Fran Houghton are also aiming to compete at their fourth Olympic Games.

Wells won GB’s first men’s sculling medal since the 70s in 2008 with Stephen Rowbotham in the double scull and Fran Houghton, four-times World Champion was in the women’s quad in Beijing with Katherine Grainger which won silver after being narrowly overhauled by the Chinese in the final 200m.

Three-times World Champion Alex Partridge, who was selected in the men’s four with Steve Williams, James Cracknell and Matthew Pinsent for the 2004 Olympic Games but agonisingly fell ill six weeks beforehand to be replaced by Ed Coode, is also in contention once more after winning silver in Beijing in the eight.

GB Rowing Team Medals at Olympic Games

Note 1: In 1924 GB was awarded a bronze medal in the men’s pair. However, this medal is not recognised by the IOC because it was awarded by default – there were only three entries to the event and, having raced the heats, the British crew did not turn up for the final.

Note 2: The medal tally for the 1908 Olympics is disputed. However, the IOC recognises GB as winning 4 gold, 3 silver and one bronze in this year.