ROWING legend Pete Reed has reflected on retiring from an illustrious career in sport, his plans for the future and still being around boats.

Having announced his retirement last month, the Royal Navy lieutenant from Nailsworth spoke of his excitement to enjoy the aspects of normal life as he leaves the world of professional sport behind.

A former Cirencester Deer Park School pupil, Reed first picked up an oar at the University of the West of England in 2001 after stunning fellow naval recruits on the rowing machine, setting the fastest time in a fleet competition.

His meteoric rise through the ranks saw him, in the space of four years, go on to win the Boat Race with Oxford and become world champion – a feat he would repeat four more times, as well as being part of Team GB’s Olympic dominance in the sport, with spectacular gold medal victories in Beijing, London and Rio.

Following a string of injuries and hip problems that required him to undergo surgery, he said that his performance wasn’t improving fast enough for him to be at his best for Tokyo 2020, and that his decision to retire brought forth a “mix of emotions”.

“I am proud, happy and relieved,” he said. “It is a very exciting time but I miss the sport already. I miss training and I miss competing, but you have to be realistic, and you can’t do these things forever.

“Even now it feels like the whole world has opened up with all these chances and possibilities. It is difficult to know which things to do and which opportunities to take so it is an exciting time.”

Explaining that he hoped to continue his involvement in a different capacity, Pete said he was looking to use his experience to help mentor new members of the GB team, as well as go into schools to talk about his time in the sport to inspire the next generation.

“I really want to send a message out to whatever level in the sport you are, you can’t do it forever. I am so lucky in the way I have decided to retire, and having the support of the Royal Navy is really important because it is a very unsettling time, as much as it is interesting.”

But with the sudden change from a schedule of two-to-three training sessions a day, he said that he suddenly had an abundance of spare time and spare energy.

“You don’t realise how much you put into the sport until you retire,” he said. “It is a tremendous amount and now I feel like I have more waking hours and more impetus to do other things.

“It is like having your batteries at full all the time because I don’t have the training load on me.

“Someone asked me on social media recently what indulgences I have given myself. The answer is none, it is just normal life.

“I am looking forward to seeing my family, seeing my friends, going out for date nights and things that are completely normal that I haven’t been able to do for the vast majority of my normal life. I am getting the chance to see what that is like and it is great.”

Only weeks after his retirement, Reed jumped back in a boat with fellow UWE alumni to triumph over cross-city rivals, the University of Bristol, in the annual Varsity Boat Race on the city’s harbour.

“It was nice coming back into Bristol, getting the train in and walking along the harbour,” he said.

“It has been a long time, but it is wonderful to see that nothing has changed, from the docks to the boathouse. It isn’t called a historic dockyard for nothing and hopefully it will stay the same for many, many years to come.

“One of the nice things about retiring on my terms is that I still love the sport, and to jump in here and there is a real pleasure - especially in UWE colours which was where I started, it was nice to be involved in a race and to win.

“It was tight racing on a short course and you can blow yourself up if you aren’t careful!”