Sir Steve holds court at BCLA

Britain's greatest Olympian, rower Sir Steve Redgrave, was the guest speaker at the opening ceremony of the BCLA clinical conference on May 29.

Hosted by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, the themed event included Olympic flames, fireworks, and Chinese food and entertainment, to mark the company's role as official vision care product partner of this year's Beijing Olympics.

The only British athlete to win Gold Medals at five consecutive Olympic Games, Redgrave spoke of the physical and emotional strain of maintaining his position at the top of his chosen sport, culminating in the Sydney Games in 2000.

Redgrave told Optician that he first started rowing at about 13 years of age and at 16 was told that he could be a world champion. He wore spectacles as a child but rowing was a sport where perfect vision was not essential. Good peripheral vision was important, however, especially as he took on the role of team tactician.