World Cup gold medallist Lance Tredell insists he finished his rowing career with no regrets after admitting his body left him with no choice but to retire.
The 29-year-old Manchester rower, from Altrincham, was forced to bring his career to a premature end after being diagnosed with overtraining syndrome in February.
He had harboured ambitions of competing again after taking a prolonged period of rest to overcome the condition, which he has suffered with in the past, with symptoms including persistent fatigue.
But the former Cambridge University president, who was part of the team that beat Oxford in the Boat Race in 2016, said he eventually had to accept his fate.
“I had a fantastic experience with British Rowing and I loved my time there, they were extremely supportive throughout, particularly this season when I struggled with injury and illness which resulted in my decision to retire,” he said
“They were very supportive of me so any way I can give back to British Rowing or the sport in general I’m more than happy to as I have great memories of my time in the sport.
“I think my body gave me no option in the end, it’s always going to be a hard decision, but it was a very rational decision and it was also circumstantial.
“My body was failing me to a certain extent and I think when other opportunities outside of rowing begin to look more appealing you really have to ask yourself the question.
“I think knowing when to retire is a really difficult thing and I just felt like it was the right time, so no regrets about the decision.
“I had lots of great memories and no regrets from my time in the sport, I loved every minute of it and would do it all over again.”
Tredell was ever-present in the men’s eight throughout 2017, winning silver and bronze in the World Cup series to add to the World Cup gold he won in Sydney in 2013.
With British Rowing in a period of transition following the Rio Olympics, Tredell had talked about targeting a place at Tokyo 2020 before his diagnosis halted his plans.
But while he will not feature at the next Games, he is confident those coming through the ranks have the ability to maintain Great Britain’s success at world and Olympic level.
“I think it’s a newer squad, there are a lot of guys coming through at the moment and it obviously presents challenges, but I think the team is building,” he said.
“I think there are some great guys such as Tom Jeffery, who has come through and his trajectory over the last few years has been fantastic. From almost a club rower three years ago to now finding himself in the GB men’s eight as the leading boat this year.
“The pairs combination of Ollie Cook and Matt Rossiter are a very exciting combination and two great guys with a lot of pedigree in the sport. So, I thinkthere’s certainly some exciting new talent coming through and I can’t wait to see how those guys get on in the next couple of years.”
Tredell was speaking in his role as City Champion for Manchester at the Power8 Sprints, a new initiative conceived by British Rowing to attract a new audience to the sport.
The inaugural event, which took place at the Bristol Harbour Festival, saw teams from eight cities compete against each other in a knockout competition in races over 350m.
The proud Mancunian said it was an honour to represent the city and he believes Power8 Sprints can broaden the appeal of rowing and show the sport in a new light.
“It’s something a bit different, traditionally we race over 2,000m and this is a much shorter sprint event which offers a different dynamic and it’s really exciting,” he said.
“With it being 350m, the spectators can see the whole race and it’s something a bit different for the sport of rowing and will hopefully attract more people intothe sport.”
The inaugural Power8 Sprints took place in Bristol on 22nd July. To find out how the action unfolded visit www.power8sprints.com
