Olympic Games expectation will not hamper Cambridge University Boat Club alumni Imogen Grant and Team GB partner Emily Craig

There will be few Team GB squad members with greater gold medal expectation on their shoulders at the Paris Olympics than Imogen Grant and her trusty partner Emily Craig.

After all, Bar Hill-raised Grant and Craig will arrive in the French capital as one of the most in-form rowing crews in the world.

Having missed out on a bronze medal by just 0.01 seconds at the Games in Tokyo three years ago, the pair have been unbeatable.

Their faultless run of form includes back-to-back World and European Championships triumphs in 2021, 2022 and 2023, with many of those victories being secured by multiple lengths.

And such is the weight of belief behind the duo, many in the know believe that lightweight women’s double scull Olympic glory is a foregone conclusion.

The pressure is therfore very much on, but Grant is confident that she and Craig can take it in their stride.

“It probably looks more certain from the outside than it actually feels being on the inside. But it’s been a dream Olympiad and we’ve been going out there confident that we’re going to row exactly how we want to,” said Grant, who won the Boat Race on three occasions with Cambridge University Boat Club.

“In general we thrive under pressure and rise to the occasion. We always combat that pressure with the confidence of knowing exactly what we’re going to do.

“I won’t lie, this is going to be the most expectation we’ve ever had on our shoulders leading into a big regatta.

“But also it’s the kind of scenario that every athlete dreams of being in – being the favourite with things going really well.

“It’s always a bit of a double-edged sword but ultimately when we push off from the landing stage, there’s only two of us in the boat and we both have complete control over what’s going to happen from that point forward.

“Because of that, in a lot of ways it doesn’t really matter what everyone has said or expects – it only matters what we’re going to do.”

For all of their success during the last three years, Grant and Craig have continued to be plied with questions about Tokyo.

Missing out on an Olympic medal by the slenderest of margins would be enough to crush some combinations, but this pair have embraced that experience.

And crucially, Grant, who is a former Stephen Perse Cambridge pupil, believes that the strength of the partnership will ensure that there is no hangover come the start line in Paris.

She added: “We had some of that (disappointment) lingering in 2022 when we won the European and World Championships, but in a lot of ways we’ve done so much since that result that it feels quite removed from what we’re doing now.

“We feel like a completely different crew in comparison to that day in Tokyo.

“We both have very high standards and we’re never satisfied with how the rowing is going or how fast we’re going.

“We both have quite a strong ethos of trying to find another level and six years on, we’re still trying to push the limits of where we can get to.

“It’s a really special partnership with Emily. We’ve seen each other at our worst and that comes from having difficult conversations sometimes, as well as supporting each other when one is up and one is down. We make sure that ultimately that our eyes are focused on the correct thing and heading towards the same goal instead of getting lost in the partnership.

“It’s been an incredibly fulfilling past five years for me and I’ve learned an awful lot. I’m always going to be grateful to Emily for that.”

With lightweight rowing set to be removed from the Olympic roster ahead of Los Angeles 2028, the next couple of weeks may represent Grant’s last chance of reaching the pinnacle.

And while she is not planning to hang up her oar just yet, with the next stage of her medical career due to start just a couple of days after she returns to England, rowing may look ‘a bit different’.

“I’ve not put any hard decisions in place. I start work as a foundation year doctor two days after the closing ceremony, so it’s quite a quick turnaround,” she said.

“But I love rowing and I’m not sure I’m ready to stop – it will just probably look a bit different.

“Paris is the last Olympics with lightweight rowing in it and as a lightweight it means I’m going to need to find my place in the sport after those events are cut.”

Grant and Craig’s bid for gold will commence on Sunday (28 July) when they go in the heats. The semi-finals will take place on Wednesday (31 July), with the final scheduled for Friday (2 August).