Sporting Life - Summer Olympics - Beijing 2008

Plenty of British athletes are heading to Beijing with hopes of winning medals, some hoping just to get on the podium, while some are favourites to hanging gold around their necks and welling up as the national anthem gets played aloud while the Union Jack gets raised in front of them - but only one heads to China with a real chance of making Olympic history - rower-cum-cyclist Rebecca Romero.

Four years after winning silver in quadruple sculls team in Athens, Romero swaps boat for bike as she tackles the individual pursuit and is a favourite for gold.

Even getting on the podium again would make history as the Olympics have never seen a female athlete pick up medals in two different sports.

Two men have achieved the feat in Welshman Paul Radmilovic and American Tim Shaw, but those events were similar in swimming and water polo.

Not only becoming the first woman ever to win Olympic medals in two different sports would be enough, but Romero is focused, and well fancied, to upgrade her Athens silver for Beijing gold.

Any rower laying down their oars and jumping on their bike might be expected to take time to get used to a new discipline, but in a scarcely-believed two years on the track Romero has become one of the world's best cyclists.

Quick start

Only seriously taking up cycling in March 2006 due to a back forcing her out of the water, Romero obviously had the leg power from her rowing career, but the intricacies and technicality involved in whizzing around the velodrome in high speeds would surely take time to pick up.

Not so for Romero, the most competitive of characters who was disgusted with herself for only getting a silver in Athens, as soon as she sensed her talent on the track, the was only going to be one result.

Immediately, Romero picked up a silver in the British Championships in the individual time trial in 2006, but a gold then followed a year later - as did a silver in the Worlds.

With barely two years track cycling under her belt, Romero powered away with World Championship gold in the individual pursuit, and team pursuit, saw her instantly installed as a Beijing medal favourite.

The gruelling 3000m individual pursuit is right up Romero's street as a powerful athlete with an unwavering will to win - she will not want to come away from Beijing with anything less than gold this time around.

"I raced that Olympic final (Athens) with the expectation to win gold, and we didn't pull it off. I am now in exactly the same position again," said Romero - determined this time to win gold.

Silver blow

"There are two ways you can look at the silver medal. One is that you've won a silver medal - the other is that you've got a runners-up medal because you lost the gold.

"My experience of it was that I lost the gold, and therefore I had silver hanging around my neck.

"I am a really sore loser, and I probably will be gutted if I get anything less than gold in Beijing. I will be happier about it if I know I have executed the best race possible and done everything possible."

Chris Boardman knows how to win individual pursuit gold and, now GB director of elite coaching, believes Romero has the hunger to succeed, adding she is not interested in winning silver.

After such a dream start to her cycling career, Romero can hardly believe she is entering the Olympics as gold-medal favourite and double world champion - but she needs to build on that belief to step up and become Olympic champion.

"Because it has been so unexpected what has happened, is there a major element of luck that is going on?" she adds.

Negative

"That is kind of like the negative way I think about things because I can't understand how I have possibly achieved this.

"That's probably my biggest weakness - not having that faith and belief in myself. I know if I do have the confidence, I perform better.

"It is going to be a major personal battle, I think, to make sure I do it.

"Going into the Games as favourite is added pressure because I've got to up the level again from the worlds. That is what is involved in the Olympics."

So not only battling against her opponent on the other side of the track, Romero has to fight against any negative thoughts that her dream could be exactly that, and she could face a huge wake-up call in China.

The thoughts of four years ago are still fresh though, and driving this most determined of athletes forward as powerfully as he legs power the lightweight racing bikes around the velodrome.

With the dreaded thought of coming second best again firing her on, the smart money must be on Romero pedalling her way not only to Olympic gold but riding into Olympic history.