WHEN it comes to the Olympics, rowing revels in its place alongside some of the big sports, where titans of the training world come to the fore together.

For the most part rowing fades out of the public limelight, and rumbles on in the back ground, whether at clubs, schools, gyms, or even indeed at the performance centre at Caversham.

We’re well funded by the National Lottery, something I’m forever grateful for – as a 34-year-old father of a little boy, and husband to a wonderful wife, I must provide, something at least!

Our fight for survival exists only on the water, the rowing machines or in the weights gym. And when we do it, we are expected to be world leaders, which is fine. We are proud of what we do.

We leave the fight for celebrity status and big sponsorship deals to the more commercially-viable athletes.

We’re not a mainstream sport, but while most people will have had some experience with rowing, be it at school, in the gym, in a play boat, or rubber dingy, no-one can tell me the top three clubs.

For this reason, we watch our Olympic comrades throughout the years between the games, and rightly so, enjoying the fruits and accolades of their sport – earning a future for themselves and their families.

So when it comes to receiving accolades, as a rower, it really means a lot.

I was honoured to receive the British Olympic Association’s (BOA) Olympic Athlete of the Year award for rowing at the British rowing team’s dinner.

Unless you row in the single and are particularly successful, this is one of the few times you’ll stand out.

And that’s weird as it’s my job to row as well as possible with my crew, and accolades are usually only received as a team.

But this award is as significant for the World Championship crew I raced in this year as it is for our World Championship in 2003. A 34-year-old athlete can race quite a few times, but he is only as successful as the crew and system that surrounds him.

While I have enjoyed the successes of the Olympics in-between (bar one), this award represents the crews I’ve been lucky enough to race in.

As a result of all of this, I am now ranked No 1 in the world by World Rowing, our international governing body. It’s a little like the tennis world ranking, but it’s cumulative over a career, rather than the last 52 weeks.

So when rowing greats Drew Ginn and Eskild Ebbesen retired after London 2012, I was fortunate enough to be elevated into the No 1 slot.

I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved, and thankful to everyone who’s helped me on the way. But most importantly I look forward to all the races to come, and the crews that come with it.

This award will sit on my CV alongside my MBE, but it just marks a stage on the journey towards the end game.

For now it’s back to training, just like everyone else, be it clubs, schools, gyms or Caversham.