The five-times Olympic champion is now in charge of China’s rowers but his main concern during Covid-19 crisis is not more medals
“My eldest daughter is a plastic surgeon but she’s been drawn back into hospital medicine because there’s no surgery going on,” Sir Steve Redgrave says as he explains why the Covid-19 crisis has had such a personal impact. “Natalie’s on the frontline. She’s working nights on the Covid ward. She’s 28, healthy, but you hear of many medics and support staff losing their lives. Of course, as a father, you feel very upset.”
Redgrave won five gold medals as a rower at five successive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He is an icon of Olympic sport but we barely mention his achievements. Redgrave is the performance director of Chinese rowing and so has been aware of coronavirus and the reality of lockdown for months longer than most. The 58-year-old also has diabetes and is in the high-risk category.