Pete Reed (Latest News)

Starting the Olympic Season

2006-10-05T23:00:00+00:00

I write now, just over a month into the new training season in what will be one of the biggest and toughest years of my life. In just over ten months, I will reach the climax of the last three years preparation by competing at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Between now and then I know there are going to hard challenges to meet and I am going to have to put my body through so much, but I’m ready for it and really excited that it is finally Olympic year.

The Start of Winter Training

2007-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

This last month has seen the end of any residual warm sunshine from the summer and the start of the winter training season. Icy cold winds are an all too frequent presence lifting the mirror flat lake into an unrowable storm; the ever weakening sunshine does not rise until our second session of the day and rain and sleet has beaten our enthusiasm into near submission.

Winter Rowing Trials

2007-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

From the start of December there seemed to be a little bit more pressure on us than in the last two months. Coming home from our high-altitude training camp, I was very happy and confident because of my good test results which is a great way to feel going into a month of rowing trials.

The Olympic Year

2008-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

Even through the festive period, the training never stopped.

5km test and Seville

2008-02-04T00:00:00+00:00

This month kicked off with the feared 5000m test on the rowing machine. It is a formidable challenge that we have been building up to for a few weeks.

Olympic Selection Trials

2008-03-27T21:01:33+00:00

After all the hours and miles of training through the winter and all those tough mental times on training camps, the team comes together every year for the second biggest race of the season: Final Trials.

2k Ergo Test and Seat Racing

2008-03-27T21:57:27+00:00

After some good and important racing at trials, we have come home to 2 more weeks of selection testing.

Selection and Race Preparation

2008-04-17T21:00:23+00:00

Five weeks have passed since final selection trials in pairs and the crews for the first World Cup have still not been finalised and selected.

New photos

2008-04-21T11:05:24+00:00

I have recently done a second photoshoot with photographer James Hope, this time on the banks of the Thames, near the boat houses in Hammersmith.

Selection announcement

2008-05-01T10:12:10+00:00

The usual training venue was today overcrowded with journalists, photographers and the BBC all wanting to hear David Tanner (International Manager) announce the World Cup crews for the first big race of the season next week. My crew will again be the coxless four, but with a new look.

Munich World Cup

2008-05-06T13:28:31+00:00

We're off to the 1st World Cup in Munich! The coxless four's heat is on Thursday, semi final on Saturday and final on Sunday. The final of our race and all the others will be shown on Sunday on BBC2 3-4pm. Thanks for all your support.

Munich World Cup, May 2008

2008-05-15T21:17:32+00:00

Last weekend was the first international regatta of the season.

Lucerne World Cup entries

2008-05-22T19:26:15+00:00

The next step on the road to Beijing is the second World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. Racing will be next week 30th May-1st June and the final of the coxless four on Sunday lunchtime. Click here for the crew entry list into the coxless fours event.

CNN blog

2008-06-06T09:18:58+00:00

I have recently started contributing to CNN’s Olympics and the World blog. There are some really interesting insights into the preparations being made by people in different countries and different sports.

Lucerne World Cup, May 2008

2008-06-09T16:04:36+00:00

I am sure there is not a single sportsman in the world that enjoys losing. There are probably only a handful who don’t mind losing. For me, the toughest thing to take is the feeling that you were not good enough or you under-performed.

Poznan World Cup schedule

2008-06-19T12:34:09+00:00

We're now in Poznan, Poland for the third and final World Cup of the season. It's our last race before the Olympics in 7 weeks time. You can follow the heats (Friday)and final (Sunday) of the coxless four using the live race viewer online at World Rowing. The finals will also be shown on BBC2 on Sunday at 1pm. Thanks for all your support!

Poznan World Cup, June 2008

2008-06-25T14:09:48+00:00

The final World Cup regatta in Poland was the last opportunity for us to compare ourselves to the majority of the qualified Olympic opposition. After getting Andy and Tom back into the boat (with their injuries behind them) we knew that we had a lot to do in a short space of time.

Team GB rowing announced

2008-07-02T13:38:30+00:00

The GB Olympic Rowing team was announced to today at a press conference at our training facility and I'm so pleased to be part of it in the coxless four. The full team line up can be viewed on the BOA's website

Photos of Olympic rowing venue

2008-07-09T10:09:44+00:00

The rowing will be held at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park at Mapo Village in the Shunyi District of Beijing. The venue opened on 28th July 2007. Water is the inspiration for the park design, which includes boat-shaped stands, oars on bridges and wave-shaped roofs. It will also be the venue for the canoe/kayak (flat-water and slalom) and marathon swimming. View a BBC flyby video of the venue.

Team Adidas

2008-07-09T11:53:49+00:00

I am pleased to have been asked to join TEAM ADIDAS as one of their Olympic Symbols for the Beijing Olympics 2008. adidas is also the official Olympic kit supplier for Team GB. I recently took part in a photoshoot on the Thames with Jude Edgington who took some beautiful photos of all the adidas athletes in a local setting that inspires us to compete.

TV: Olympic Dreams 2nd series

2008-07-14T16:30:57+00:00

A second series of BBC programme Olympic Dreams starts weekly on Tuesday 15th July at 10:35pm on BBC1. It will follow GB sportsmen and women aiming for a gold medal in 2012. The rowers will be shown on Tuesday 5th August.

24 days to go...

2008-07-15T17:49:35+00:00

...until the Olympics start and the BBC have put out a promotional video that makes your hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. They've also put together an interactive map of Beijing so that you can explore all the Olympic venues including the Shunyi rowing lake.

High altitude training camp, July 2008

2008-07-16T17:56:05+00:00

For the last 3 weeks, I have been at over 2000m above sea level in a remote location in the Austrian Alps with my coach and crew. We come here once a year in the summer to train our bodies harder than at any other point in the season in what is known as a ‘work camp’.

The Olympic Games - Beijing 2008

2008-08-06T14:48:50+00:00

I think that throughout history, every athlete at every Olympic Games will have wanted to crawl under a rock and hide until it’s all over at some point in their preparation. It is difficult not to when you know how big and important one race is.

Racing timetable - UK times

2008-08-07T11:28:30+00:00

The provisional timetable for the men's coxless four is out - here are the UK start times for their races:

Post-race celebrations

2008-08-28T08:07:27+00:00

So...I hope you enjoyed the race! I’ve spoken to lots of people since then that have told me they were on the edge of their seats and screaming at the television, so I hope you’ve recovered from the shock and thanks for the help!

Fun times

2008-08-29T16:57:01+00:00

In my last blog I mentioned a human pyramid we put up in the Olympic Village with a 6 man base - after facing a lot of scepticism from disbelieving friends I've finally got hold of a photo. Also, check out the music videos of the heavyweight men's squad put together by Robin Bourne-Taylor on training camp (1 , 2 and 3).

Return to Nailsworth

2008-09-13T22:59:23+00:00

I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone in Nailsworth who welcomed me home today and arranged the bus tour and reception. It was great to see everyone again and be able to thank people properly for all their support. Thank you!

Henley Parade

2008-10-11T18:42:48+00:00

On Saturday 11th October the Olympic rowing team were welcomed back to Leander Club in Henley to celebrate the team's success with Leander club members and Henley residents.

London Parade 16th October

2008-10-14T14:17:28+00:00

On Thursday 16 October I'm very excited to be taking part in the parade through the streets of London with the other Olympians from Beijing.

World Rowing Awards

2008-10-21T19:21:21+00:00

I'm delighted that our coach Jurgen Grobler has been nominated for 2008 World Rowing Coach of the Year. Jurgen has coached a crew to a gold medal at every Olympics since 1972. Is there another coach in any sport in the world with such an incredible record?

Continuing to 2012

2008-11-06T14:52:57+00:00

This morning on board HMS PRESIDENT, I was delighted to announce that the Royal Navy has offered to continue to sponsor me as an athlete until London 2012. With this support, it was an easy decision to continue to row for the next 4 years to aim for another gold medal at my home Olympics.

Children In Need

2008-11-09T20:02:16+00:00

Steve Williams and I are pleased to be part of an auction prize to raise money for Children In Need. On Monday 10th November at 8:00-8:30am Terry Wogan will be auctioning a Rowing for Gold package as part of his 'Money Can't Buy' auction.

Full training again

2008-11-24T21:59:25+00:00

The weeks and (couple of) months after the Olympics have been the only time in 5 years when I have really had a chance to stop and think about what I’ve been doing all this time.

SJA Sports Awards

2008-11-26T19:50:11+00:00

I attended a lunch today (26th Nov) for the Sports Journalists' Association Sports Awards at The Brewery in the City of London. It was a fantastic event with sportspeople past and present attending and was supported by Princess Anne.

Hodge/Reed vs The Marines

2008-11-29T21:23:57+00:00

UPDATE: Click here and here to read how we got on and see photos here and here.

On Monday (2nd Dec) Andy Hodge and I will be traveling down to Portsmouth to take part in a series of physical and psychological test with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

Thank you for the team awards, Dec 2008

2008-12-09T19:58:00+00:00

Last Sunday (7th Dec) I was at the BBC West, Sports Personality of the Year awards reception. It is the first time I have been able to be there in person and it was fantastic to receive the award for ‘The Sporting Moment of the Year’ for the last 250m of our Olympic final.

Aussie reaction to funding

2008-12-10T11:02:49+00:00

After the funding to be made available to the GB Olympic sports was announced on 3rd December, I was interested to read the reaction of the Aussie sports minister and the counter-reaction in the Sydney Morning Herald. The concluding paragraph was particularly funny: "And don't worry about the Brits. Remember, as Brits, what they do best in sport is to be noble in surprising defeat."

Liverpool

2008-12-16T21:59:47+00:00

Having never been to Liverpool in my life before, I have now been twice in 3 days. First was Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday (14th Dec) at the Echo Arena.

Christmas present from Panasonic

2008-12-24T13:09:31+00:00

The coxless four rowers were re-united earlier this month to receive an early Christmas present from Team GB sponsor and Olympic Games partner Panasonic. We got together again at our training centre Caversham, along with the lightweight double, and were kindly given a new 32” Panasonic Viera television and a Blu-ray player.

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T22:04:45+00:00

Happy New Year! Looking back, 2008 was a great year for me personally and it ended on a fantastic note when I received an MBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours List – I feel so proud and pleased to have received it. A lot of people have asked what the reception was like, but don’t go to the Palace for a while yet.

An early summer, Jan 2009

2009-01-18T20:32:13+00:00

I’m writing this blog on my laptop looking out over one of the most spectacular natural landscapes I have even seen. I’m in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Team Nestl�

2009-01-29T13:36:36+00:00

I am in York today (Thursday 29th January) to announce an exciting sponsorship deal to become part of "Team Nestlé" for the 2012 Olympics.

Boston trials, Feb 2009

2009-02-12T20:46:45+00:00

After training tomorrow I’m driving up to Boston in Lincolnshire to the stretch of water where the third set of GB trials of the season take place.

Trials and Portugal training camp, Feb 2009

2009-03-08T21:19:57+00:00

It turns out the Alex Gregory and I can go pretty fast in the pair together. Trials was a few weeks ago now, but I have fond memories of that race and what we managed to achieve in a short time.

Book - Blood Over Water

2009-03-24T21:14:16+00:00

I raced with David Livingston in the 2004 Oxford Blue Boat and subsequently in the men’s pair at the Poznan 2004 World Cup.

Combined Services Sports Awards, March 2009

2009-03-24T21:36:09+00:00

Last week I was absolutely delighted to receive the award for Sportsman of the Year 2008 at the Combined Services Sports Awards.

GB selection trials, Easter weekend

2009-04-10T13:03:49+00:00

We have just arrived (Friday 10 April) in Hazewinkel, Belgium, for a weekend of racing at the final GB Senior Trials .

Trials results, April 2009

2009-04-14T20:28:51+00:00

It was a great Easter weekend for Alex Gregory and me. We won the men’s pairs trials with a controlled and fairly comfortable row.

Boat selection

2009-04-28T19:54:06+00:00

I’ve been looking forward to writing this blog for weeks now. The press announcement today confirms a few rumours that Hodge and I will make up the men’s pair for the World Cup season 2009 and perhaps beyond.

1st World Cup schedule

2009-05-24T21:07:52+00:00

The Rowing Team are flying to Banyoles in Spain on Wednesday for the first World Cup of the 2009 season. It will be the first time that Andy and I have raced our pair internationally. The entry list for all the events can be downloaded here and our races can be viewed in the following ways:

MBE investiture and 1st World Cup

2009-06-02T22:43:20+00:00

New photos from the Palace and Banyoles in the gallery.

2nd World Cup schedule

2009-06-18T21:14:10+00:00

We're now in Munich for for the second World Cup of the 2009 season, where I'll be racing the pair again with Andy.

Henley Royal Regatta

2009-06-30T16:27:00+00:00

I move down to Henley-on-Thames this Wednesday (1st July) for the start of the Henley Royal Regatta.

A blog about losing

2009-07-07T20:05:25+00:00

Maybe this title does seem a little bit melodramatic considering that we’ve only been beaten into silver medal position at one World Cup and suffered the same fate at Henley Royal Regatta at the weekend. The fact of the matter is that Andy and I are out to win gold medals and anything else can easily be seen as a loss.