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Top British rower Peter Reed was named as Newcomer of the Year at the BBC West Sports Awards in December 2005. It's an award which has capped a phenomenal twelve months for the Nailsworth-born rower. In 2005 Peter won an incredible three Gold Medals on the World Cup circuit in the Men's Four, and he was also part of the Gold medal winning crew in the World Championships in Japan. It's an amazing achievement for a man who's only been in the sport of rowing for a little over four years. BBC Gloucestershire caught up with Peter for a quick chat about his fantastic year and his plans for the future ... 2005 wasn't a bad year for you really?
 | | Peter Reed (2nd left) celebrates victory in Japan |
No, it was stunning. I went from just a young rower at the start of the year to selection for the GB squad. Becoming World Champion this Summer was a terrific end to a great season. What about 2006, what will you hope to achieve? I'm hoping to keep my world title and become world champion again. This time the UK is hosting the World Championships at Dorney Lake at Eton College, Windsor and it's going to be very special to row in front of a home crowd on the world circuit. Also to go undefeated again through the season, keep my place in the fours and go on to become Olympic Champion in 2008 is definitely what I'm planning to do. Is everything geared towards the Olympics now? The World Championships is the next big hurdle but at the back of my mind is always the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008. That's something that every athlete at world level wants to achieve - going to the Olympics and becoming an Olympic Champion. As a Gloucestershire boy born and bred, how did you get into rowing? It's surprisingly easy to do. I started rowing at the University of the West of England in Bristol - I just joined the university club and then moved on as I got better and progressed in the sport. I went to Oxford University and then got selected for the national team. But there are clubs all over the country, GB Rowing is looking for new talent all the time and it's open to anyone who wants to get up and have a go at it. So you didn't start very early then?
 | | Peter Reed (left) celebrates victory in Lucerne |
No, I've been in the sport for four years now. I've just had a really good run at it and taken to the sport. I've loved every second of it. It doesn't take long to get very good, it just takes a long time to really polish it and become perfect. How do you spot a good talent in rowing, because it's not like football where you can see if someone has talent straight away. If you're one of a group of four, how does someone spot that one is actually better than the others in that group? You need a really keen eye. It takes coaches twenty or thirty years to develop the eye for spotting a really good rower. The early signs are being really big and really strong - having physical capacity to never stop. There's a mental side of things, there's a technical side with good rowing. It's looking at a person who can row in the water and least disturb the boat, least disturb the water to maintain efficiency - that's the way you spot a good rower. Is there much camaraderie between you as a team because there might be eight guys fighting for four places - is it all done through gritted teeth?
 | | The BBC's Bob Hunt presents the trophy to Peter |
No, we're all best of friends. We see each other all the time and, just because of the nature of the sport, there comes a time in selection where you're put up against your mates and it's business as usual - it's all down to who's the fastest guy. Everybody in the team wants the fastest boat to go and represent the country, they're very supportive once the selection is over. Hopefully I'll be in the crew this year. Rowing has got a high profile, Olympic-wise, which is thanks to Redgrave, Cracknell and the boys - you've got a lot to live up to, really, haven't you? Very much so, yeah. I think it's the sport that Britain has done the best in over the last twenty years in Olympics, if you look at it. The nation has really got behind the Olympic teams in rowing and look to it for a sure Gold medal. In the past they've got it, hopefully we're going to hold that mantel and carry on. But we're looking to the future rather than the past and we've got a very strong team this year. Obviously you follow a very strict training regime - were you allowed to enjoy Christmas? I've had a great Christmas. We train three times a day, every day but we had Christmas Day off and Boxing Day was only one session so it was very relaxing in comparison to our normal regime!
Peter Reed was talking to Bob Hunt on Boxing Day 2005 | 
