Olympics 2008

On the face of it, Sir Steve Redgrave and I don't have much in common.

Him, 6 foot 4 inches of pure, honed rowing genius. Multiple world and Olympic champion. Utter dedication and commitment to athletic excellence.

Me, 5 foot and a bit of serial exercise avoidance. Drop-out from all known school sporting activities. Prone to having that one glass too many of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc.

But when it comes to Olympic Games attendance, we're on a par. OK, so he went five times, and came back with five gold medals. I'm heading for my fifth in Beijing, and the most I've had to show for it is some rather nice framed posters and a lot of special memories.

Like broadcasting live from the steps of the Sydney Opera House on the first morning of the 2000 Games. Or losing a contact lens on the media bus on the way to the synchronised swimming in Barcelona, which added a certain surreal one-eyed hysteria to the event. Or knowing that every tiny stone on every corner of every street in Athens had more Olympic history at its core than the whole of Atlanta would ever have.

I'll be covering a range of sports in Beijing, most of them involving assault with a deadly weapon - think shooting, fencing and modern pentathlon. And I promise to try and avoid my usual trick at the Olympics - every time I turn up, Britain's hopefuls lose the plot completely, and those medals disappear into thin air. Belated apologies to the entire GB judo team in Atlanta.

Sir Steve can feel very thankful that I waited until he retired before I made it along to the rowing.