Oxonian gold medallist hails 'best race'

Three years later, they won gold for Great Britain as part of the coxless fours crew at the Beijing Olympics. And this summer, the two Oxonians secured a second consecutive gold medal in the same event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

In an exclusive video, Andy Triggs-Hodge describes the emotion of winning a second gold medal.

‘We had our best race,’ he said. ‘It was absolutely perfect. I sat there incredibly proud of what I’d just done.’

Triggs-Hodge said that rowing at Oxford played a major part in his development not only as a sportsman, but as a person. 'When I left school, I was well below par,’ he said.

‘When I found rowing at my first university that was a huge step in my development so I went from a third in my first year to a 2.1 when I left and then when I came to Oxford it was the same again.'

Sean Bowden, coach of the Oxford University crew, is also interviewed in the video produced by Angel Sharp Media for the University of Oxford.

He said: ‘When you actually sit down in a chair in front of the television for the Olympic final then the adrenaline is going – it’s people who you know and you want them to win.’