Andy Hodge: Olympic Gold Medallist Already Dreams of 2012 and Beyond

While the rest continue to take a deserved break after their stupendous feats in China Andy Hodge has already decided not only to go for gold once more, but also take it upon himself to deliver future gold medallists for 2016 and beyond.

The 29-year-old stroke in the gold medal-winning coxless fours, who took the Olympic title in such dramatic fashion last August, only decided for sure that he would go on for another four years in December after his fellow crew member Peter Reed announced his similar intentions the month before.

For Hodge, who came last in the eights in the 2004 Olympic final, and then won the University Boat Race with Oxford a year later, deciding to aim for a second Olympic gold medal in London was not the no-brainer it would appear.

“If it was I would have committed to London weeks before,” he explained, as he sat in the clubhouse at Molesey Boat Club, where he currently serves as captain. “Instead I’ve purposefully been through a process.”

This began with two months off immediately after Beijing, including a three week period in which he admitted to being “pretty much drunk for the whole time.” It had been, after all, an intense few months in which Hodge’s fours, double world champions and unbeaten for two and half years, entered the Olympics having lost their world crown, and been defeated for much of the summer.

“I guess it was asking too much to keep the same four for four years but it would prove to be a very intense time in which first Alex Partridge left the fours, then both myself and Tom James were injured, resulting in defeat in Lucerne. It also meant the Beijing four only raced once before the Games in Poznan, where the Dutch beat us, and the others were right on our tails. Clearly, that wasn’t great news six weeks before Beijing but by the time we arrived in China we had trained well and the ten days preceding competition went brilliantly.

“In the end winning gold meant all the pain and intensity as worth it because for all of us it was gold or nothing, and we would have swapped every world title, and every other victory we had recorded as a four for that one medal.”

It was little wonder Hodge needed time off afterwards but, after two months he felt ready to train again. “I took that as a really good sign, as was my performances since in training,” he explained.

“I didn’t want to make a decision based on the fact that the next Games are in London. I wanted to know that I was still willing to go through it all to get there. I would never want to row with anyone who felt he had to row because of London, rather than wanting to. Besides, if you’re not fully committed, you’ll get found out by the winter of year three.

“The easy option would have been to stop but I love training, I love performing and I love winning. To compete in London, the first Games in Britain for 64 years, will be something to tell the kids, but I’m only carrying on to win gold, nothing less.”

In what boat, and with which teammates, is still to be decided. Two-time gold medallist Steve Williams is taking more time to deliberate, while Tom James intends to take a year out and then reach a conclusion.  Hodge, who received the blessing of head coach Jurgen Grobler, has no idea which boat he will feature in come 2012. “There are six options, which include the pairs, fours and eights, plus the double and quadruple sculls, and it’s going to be Jurgen’s decision, as always, based on how I perform. All I can do is make sure that I give it my all at every trial, every race, and even every training session, just as I’ve always done.”

On top of this, however, Hodge has already started his next mission, which is to identify twelve newcomers to the sport, invite them to Molesey Boat Club, just a short walk from Hampton Court Palace, and provide them with the tools to become Olympic champions.

“We need to bridge the gap between club rowing and competing for Team GB and for us to do this, to provide expert advice, coaching, nutrition, training camps and help the sport nationally as a result, we need to find ?40,000 in sponsorship money. The Skipton Building Society is sponsoring us for ?5,000, which is a good start, but we need more because it is my goal for this club to produce five medallists by 2016. I’m in the business of providing all the tools required to create Olympic champions for the future.”

It is as ambitious as Hodge’s plan to follow up his Beijing gold with a second Olympic title in London, but the half- Norwegian from Yorkshire is serious. “I promise you that if I was part of the mechanics that created an Olympic champion from scratch it would give me as much satisfaction as winning gold myself.”

Gold in 2008, gold in 2012 and then a third gold, albeit for a protege, in 2016, is the plan, then. “Sounds great, doesn’t it?” Hodge responded, with a smile. “Let’s hope I can pull it off.”