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Henley is the unofficial home of Olympic rowing. Out of the 43 British rowers who went to Beijing, 15 of them train at the Leander Club in Henley.

Thirteen of these athletes returned home with a medal packed away snugly in their hand luggage.

Steve Williams was one of these phenomenal rowers. He won his second consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Steve describes the physical sensation of giving his all,听500 metres from the finishing line.

At this particular point in the race it looked like the Australians were going to take the key spot on the winner's podium.

"More blood is being pumped to the muscles, so they're getting bigger. The skin over your thighs feels like they are going to split.

"You feel like your arms are going to come apart at the wrists, elbows and shoulders, because your just hanging off this oar.

Coxless four Olympic team 2008

"Your back feels like someone has taken a baseball bat and swung at it.

"In order to try and relieve that pain, you try and get as much oxygen into your body as possible.

"No matter how much you breathe and pant, you'll never get enough to relieve that pain. It only gets worse with every stroke."

One of Steve's jobs throughout the race was to act as look out, read the race and feedback to the other rowers in the boat.

"There needs to be one interpretation and only one reaction to the race. It's critical that we're all on the same page."

Crossing the finishing line in a rowing race is a very unique and exhilarating experience.

"It was relief at first, rather than euphoria.

Steve with team mates on the podium

"Victory is a very good anaesthetic. You're so knackered. You've spent everything, physiologically, mentally and emotionally, not just in the last six minutes but in the last 12 months.

However, it wasn't just Steve who was caught up in the emotion of the race. Many of his immediate family members found themselves lost for words.

"When I got out of the boat I saw my sister. I had to hold her up. She wasn't just crying, she was sobbing, her whole body was shaking.

"It's almost worse for them, because it's in our control. We're in the boat, we can do something about it. But for them, they're really powerless."

"I've seen photos taken during the race, particularly of my mum. She had her head in her hands for most of it.

"That was money well spent. Going half way round the world to see the race and not even watching it," says Steve, jokingly.

It hasn't been smooth sailing by any stretch of the imagination for Steve. In March 2008 his presence in the Olympic squad was put into jeopardy. Another rower was desperately fighting to take his place on the team.

Steve Williams at his rowing club

"For those ten days I was half in and half out of the squad. It was a very tough time. There was a real risk that I wouldn't be going to Beijing."

Rowing isn't a sport for the faint hearted, with training sessions taking place seven days a week. At this level it isn't a vocation, it's an occupation.

"The training progamme is brutal and starts at seven each morning. We only have one day off a month.

"There are times when you're lying in bed, you can hear the rain lashing across the window and you're hitting the snooze button.

"What gets me out of bed is knowing clearly in my mind what I'm doing this for, a gold听medal."

You can listen to the whole interview below:

Find out more about the event in Henley on Saturday 11 October 2008: