Sir Steven Redgrave is a retired English rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000 as well as a bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Games. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold medals. He has carried the British flag at the opening of the Olympic Games on two occasions. In 2011 he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

Redgrave is one of only four Olympians to have won a gold medal at five consecutive Olympic Games. This achievement led to him being hailed as Britain's greatest Olympian.

Adversity:

For much of his career, Redgrave battled against severe illnesses. In 1992, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (although he had continued to train for a considerable time prior to diagnosis). In September 1997, type 2 diabetes was added to his list of ailments. Through careful management, however, he was able to continue training right up to the Sydney Olympics.