WHEN Marlow rower Katherine Grainger stood on the podium in the Sydney sunshine waiting to receive her Olympic silver medal it was not only a moment of personal triumph, but a moment that was likely to spur others onto success.

WHEN Marlow rower Katherine Grainger stood on the podium in the Sydney sunshine waiting to receive her Olympic silver medal it was not only a moment of personal triumph, but a moment that was likely to spur others onto success.

And that is just the way Grainger, who took up rowing seven years ago, wants it.

The 24-year-old admitted to the BFP that she hopes her achievement in the Sydney Games will spur other athletes onto sporting success.

Grainger, who has been a member of Marlow Rowing Club for the last four years, said: 'I think the good thing about it is that other people can see there's nothing amazing or particularly special about us. We're just normal people, all the other rowers know us as people, but doing what we've done makes it tangible for them.

'They can see winning an Olympic medal is achievable. Obviously it takes lots of hard work but it's not beyond reach.

'Hopefully it will encourage more people into the sport.'

Grainger, Marlow club-mate Gillian Lindsay and Thames Rowing Club sisters Guin and Miriam Batten, claimed the silver medal after pipping the Russians by one-hundredth-of-a-second on the line. The Germans took the gold.

And even the 15 minute wait to see which colour medal the quad scullers had clinched, as the judges pondered over the photo-finish, didn't phase Grainger.

She said: 'The BBC were there waiting to interview us so it wasn't too bad.

'At first I was just happy thinking I'd got a medal and that we would get on the podium at last, but then the longer you were waiting, the more you wanted it to be silver.'

Grainger admitted she remembers little of the race.

'It just flew past, I think you get to the point you are so focused. But I've never rowed in a race so fast in my life.'

But undoubtedly one moment she won't forget is getting an historic Games medal. The four are the first British women to win an Olympic rowing medal.

She said: 'My best moment was probably crossing the line, knowing we had done it and then when we got the decision it was like wow. At that point I didn't think I could be any happier. Then when you get your medal, see the flag go up and hear the crowd, because there was massive British support, the combination of that was just breathtaking.'

And she is still having people congratulate her.

'It's pretty fantastic still. It's been a few days now, and every so often you forget about it, and then someone comes up and offers their congratulations.'

The four were helped to their Olympic success by Marlow man Mike Spracklen, a member of Marlow Rowing Club, who claimed gold at the 1958 Empire Games.

And Grainger was full of praise for the man who has steered the crew through a stormy build-up to Sydney.

'He comes with such a background and calibre. Since, he arrived we have had more medals. He knows how to win,' she said.

The crew's preparations for Sydney ran aground when Marlow rower Sarah Winckless was hit by a back injury.

Spracklen opted for trials for her place in the boat and Lindsay came out on top.

But Grainger admitted: 'It was about a week after the World Cup that she Winckless had to be taken out of the boat and at the time it was awful.

'You were just aware that the Olympics were coming and you couldn't stop time.

'But Gillian came in and it was even better. She brought a lift to the boat. We began thinking should we stick with what we knew or should we change and then it was like, we haven't got time to think about it.'

And that could have worked in the team's favour.

'With only six or seven weeks before the Games, you only have a short time to focus,' Grainger admitted.

But going into Sydney they were confident.

'I think coming into the Games we knew we were going well. We were doing timed races against the men's fours and eights, but we hadn't raced as a crew against the rest of the world.

'But we thought with a great race we could go for a medal. We knew we had to do that because people seem to do amazing things at the Olympics.'

And, like the rest of the victorious Team GB returning from Sydney, Grainger is adament lottery funding has been the difference.

She said: 'It seemed that everyday there was someone winning another medal. It brought us a lot of attention.

'With the lottery funding coming in we can take ourselves to another level. With the training camp, all the equipment and training full time it has helped us.'