Steves oarsome challenge: Could Steve Redgrave transform a group of young hoodies into a Henley rowing team?
He won Olympic gold five times, but could rower Steve Redgrave transform a group of young hoodies into an elite crew capable of racing at Henley – and turn their lives around in the process? Rowing is a rarified world. One thinks of Oxford and Cambridge, of Henley-on-Thames; of straw boaters, striped blazers, Pimm’s and champagne. One does not, typically, think of Liverpool. But, lined up on the banks of the Mersey two winters ago, stood 40 young Scousers in hoodies and gold necklaces. They were being offered the chance to qualify for the Henley Royal Regatta – in just seven months’ time. None of them had ever been in a boat before. Guiding this experiment – which was, to crank up the pressure even further, being filmed for a reality TV show – was Olympic rowing champion Sir Steven Redgrave.