This video is from a BBC documentary series called “Gold Fever”. It was filmed over the course of the four years leading up to the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster, and James Cracknell all had personal video cameras that they used to record video diaries during those four years. You see Steve dealing with his diabetes diagnosis, Tim dealing with all his surgeries and the possibility of not making the final lineup, and many other things.

One of the things I love most about this series is how intensely they take the sport but also how vulnerable they are to the same things that HS and collegiate athletes are vulnerable to. These guys hate getting up in the morning just as much as we do sometimes, but they still get up and do what needs to be done. The way they attack those erg pieces and just fall off the ergs in exhaustion afterwards…that’s dedication.

In the end, the four ended up winning the gold and Steve Redgrave won his FIFTH straight Olympic gold medal.