Good news for Winter Olympians as Steve Redgrave is planning to build a winter venue in the UK
Last updated 04/03/2010 18:49:45
Steve Redgrave is planning to build a winter venue in the UK
Five times Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave wants to help Great Britain's winter sportsmen by building a winter venue in the UK.
Legend Redgrave, who won rowing medals at five different summer games, plans to build a long-track speed skating venue and house other winter sports in the centre of the proposed arena.
Redgrave, the vice-president of the British Olympic Association, has been in Vancouver, where Team GB's only medal has been Amy Williams' skeleton gold. The target was three in return for the £56 million spent.
While others moan, optimist Redgrave is already talking to potential private funding donors. "A third of your medal chances could be under one roof," Redgrave said when speaking at a briefing for British media in Vancouver on Thursday.
The former Olympic rower recalled how he was "taken aback" by the long-track speed skating venue he saw in Salt Lake City at the 2002 Winter Olympics, which had training facilities for other ice sports at its centre.
"Why haven't we got anything like this?" asked Redgrave, "Nicky Gooch [GB speed skating coach and bronze medallist at the 1994 Games] and the athletes say they get, at best, two hours of track time a day.
"Obviously it is a huge undertaking to have a big warehouse like that but it would be giving our athletes the opportunity to not have to scrimp and save in their hours."
Redgrave added that Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who won figure skating gold for Britain at the 1984 Winter Olympics, were able to become world-class competitors only because they moved to Nottingham, after the city offered them use of a rink to get more practice than they were able to find elsewhere.
"I have spoken to a couple of sponsors, but the big issue is capital and UK Sport said if I can find the funds for the capital build they could run it," he added.
"I am speaking to key donors and will speak to all the governing bodies when I get back. To me, it just seems like moving the sports in the right direction.
"My idea is you concentrate on an area where we can be the world's best. We were not very good at track cycling until we built the Manchester Velodrome."
Redgrave also wants to attract athletes from summer sports, who might not reach Olympics status in those disciplines, to the Winter Olympics sports. Rebecca Romero of Great Britain has won medals in rowing and cycling, and has also hinted that speed skating would appeal to her.
Canada's Clara Hughes has also won Olympic medals in cycling and speed skating - suggesting the sports are interchangeable at the top level.
Redgrave said: "There are people now who will never, ever get on to the cycling team but who would walk on to any other team. Why not get them to try another sport?"
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