Is there a Redgrave rowing dynasty shaping up around Sir Steve? That would hardly be surprising. The five-time Olympic gold medallist has become something of a poster-boy for the real meaning of the Olympic Games. Decency, grit, and courage.

And with Sir Steve’s passion for rowing spreading down the generations, his daughter Natalie has recently taken up the sport. So another gold for the Redgrave family in the offing?

“My daughter said she was never going to row. But she took it up at Oxford and really enjoyed it. She’s got three years left before she qualifies as a doctor, and I think she will carry on at some level.

“But she enjoys medicine as well as sport – and plays netball at a very high level too - so I’m not sure if she has the passion and dedication to put her life on hold for rowing,” he says.

And if anyone knows about passion and dedication, it’s Sir Steve. He has five Olympic gold medals to show for his efforts.

“A huge amount of training goes into rowing,” he explains. “The teams train 49 weeks a year, and have two to four sessions a day. So just loving it really is not enough. Basically, you need power to be in the race in the first place.”

So when did Sir Steve realise he had what it takes? “Academically I wasn’t the brightest child, I often struggled. But I really enjoyed sport. And what sport did for me was give me self-esteem and a sense of purpose.

“So sport is my life – it can turn people’s lives around.“ Which is why Sir Steve didn’t hang up his oars and walk away from rowing in 2000, but instead dedicated his life to inspiring the next generation to succeed as magically as he did. “Yes, I’m committed with a capital ‘C,” he says, and as the 2012 Sports Legacy Champion, he’s working hard.

“I think sport develops your character. You learn how to win and lose, and use failure to move to the next level. Through sport, people learn who they are and it makes you a more rounded person. Because we live in a competitive world, sporting lessons help.”

Sacrifice is another necessity required to become an Olympic medallist, and Sir Steve says his stable home-life played an enormous part in his success. ‘It is demanding, but it was a life choice for me. I commuted to Henley to train, but I could see people commuting by car, or taking the train to go to an office in London. A lot of people do things in their lives they have to. I was lucky. If you love what you do, it enables you to do it, even if it is hard.”

Being married to former Olympic rower Ann Redgrave, an icon in her own right was also a bonus: “Yes, having a partner at the highest level of the sport helps,” he agrees.

And yet, despite all of this, Sir Steve has stayed modest. “I don’t know if I am a nice guy. But I have been involved in sport since I was 13 and I think training and preparation make you a more rounded person.

“And while some people might say I’ve never lived in the real world, I’ve lived in the competitive world, and I do believe that sporting lessons really help.”