Gold Fever (2000)

• Documentary

Gold Fever was the name of a BBC documentary, shown in August 2000, which followed Steve Redgrave and his British rowing coxless four teammates Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell in the years leading up to the Sydney Olympics, where Redgrave was looking to claim his fifth consecutive gold medal. The 3-part series included video diaries recording the highs and lows in the quest for gold. Among these were Redgrave being diagnosed with diabetes, and Foster possibly losing his spot on the team after injuring his hand punching a window at a party, and later undergoing back surgery that required additional months of recovery time. Coach Jurgen Grobler was also featured in the programme. A follow-up documentary programme entitled The Rowers Return was produced in the aftermath of the Sydney Olympics. The title was part-reference to a fictional public house, The Rovers Return, a venue in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. The documentary detailed the crew's return to the UK and completed the Gold Fever story.