On July 27, 1996, shortly after winning the fourth of his five Olympic gold medals, alongside Matthew Pinsent in the coxless pair, in Atlanta, Steve Redgrave famously declared, ‘If anyone sees me go near a boat, you’ve got my permission to shoot me.’ However, Redgrave had a change of heart and returned to training for the Millenium Olympic Games in Sydney, only to be diagnosed with type two diabetes, at the age of 35, a few months later. Unsuited by the low-calorie diet he was prescribed following his diagnosis, he reverted to his previous high-calorie diet and opted, instead, to inject himself with insulin, up to ten times a day, to maintain his training regime.

Despite expressing doubts, more than once, that he would make it to Sydney at all, Redgrave took his place alongside Pinsent, James Cracknell and Tim Foster in the coxless four and, on September 23, 2000, at the age of 38, became the most successful rower in Olympic history. Indeed, he also became one of only four athletes to win five consecutive Olympic gold medals and was duly knighted, for services to rowing, in the 2001 New Year Honours.

Born, fittingly, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire – a Georgian market town on the River Thames, between Henley and Windsor – Redgrave won his first Olympic gold medal alongside Richard Budgett, Martin Cross and Andy Holmes, under the guidance of coxswain Adrian Ellison, in the coxed four in Los Angeles in 1984. He subsequently triumphed three times in the coxless pair, alongside Andy Holmes in Seoul in 1988 and Pinsent in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996, before ending his career on a high note in Sydney.

Read more about Steve Redgrave here

Read more about Tom Watson here

Sarah Virginia Wade, invariably known as Virginia, or ‘Ginny’ for short, has the distinction of being the last British woman to win a Grand Slam tennis singles title. Indeed, she won three such titles, the US Open in 1968, the Australian Open in 1972 and, most famously of all, Wimbledon in 1977.

A natural grass court player, with a competent, all-court game, Wade was, nevertheless, making her first appearance in the singles final, at the age 31, in her sixteenth year at the All England Club. Seeded number three, she beat defending champion, and number one seed, Chris Evert 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the semi-final, to set up a final meeting with number seven seed, Betty Stöve. In the final, Wade lost the first set 4-6, but rallied to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and duly received the Venus Rosewater Dish from the Queen, who was attending Wimbledon for the first time in 15 years. Her victory was timely, insofar as it coincided not only with the centennial Wimbledon Champions, but also the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Born in Bournemouth on July 10, 1945, Wade emigrated to South Africa with her parents as an infant, but returned to England with her family as a teenager. Her tennis career coincided with the start of the Open Era and, in 1968, she turned professional, albeit with mixed feelings. Indeed, having won the British Hard Court Open in her hometown, Wade refused to accept the £800 prize money on the grounds that it was just one-third of the £2,400 awarded to the men’s champion, Ken Rosewell, and two-thirds of the £1,200 awarded to runner-up Rod Laver.