IF the vision of Steve Redgrave's Olympic conquest at Penrith Lakes is beginning to fade from the memory of some, that glorious chapter of sporting history is still clear in the mind of one Worcester man.

Matt Beechey thinks of little else while he is on the water going through a daily schedule that demands four hours of training and a dedication that would put most 24-year-olds to shame.

The dream of Olympic destiny, to one day etch his name in British folklore is an ambition which dominates his mind and he has a constant reminder of that when he steps through the doors of Leander Club in Henley.

Beechley travels to Redgrave's club every weekend to join up with the Great Britain squad and often gets the chance to question his long-time partner and triple gold medallist Matthew Pinsent on just how to make it to the top.

The sports studies graduate has already made great strides since he first took to the water 10 years ago, prompted by his father Alan's encouragement.

Beechey was last week named in the British squad bound for the World Cup series of races in Seville, Vienna and Munich in the next two months.

However, feet firmly on the ground, he knows this is but the start of a three-year period which will ultimately shape his destiny.

"It will be hard work," he said. "The sport demands that of you but if you have the dedication and believe you will get there -- you have a chance."

"When I am training, I think of the Olympics. That is my goal, my dream and it spurs you on. Training can be tough sometimes and you do a lot of soul searching when you are out on the water but if you keep that goal in your mind it is not difficult to motivate yourself.

"It would be nice to go out more with my friends at the weekend and go to the pub but I know I can't if I want to be a top athlete."

Beechey's routine dictates his training schedule has to fit around work commitments as a fitness instructor at University College Worcester. Throughout the week, the Worcester-born athlete rows at the city's own rowing club before driving down south to meet up with his British team-mates at Leander.

And it is there he realises the enormity of Olympic achievement.

"To talk to Matthew Pinsent about the Olympics really gives you something to aspire to. Of course you see the pictures on the television but chatting to him, you realise how special the feeling must be."

With the dedication and achievement though, comes the cost and Beechey is only too aware why many of Britain's young stars have to ditch the dream before they have begun.

Lottery money enables him to train and row for Britain but, still without a car of his own, it is down to others to help him out.

"I still have to beg, steal and borrow to carry on training at Leander because I don't have a car so I have to borrow my mum's! I find it difficult financially because it can be expensive and apart from the lottery we do not get anything else. When you make it like Steve and Matthew you reap the rewards through sponsorship and commercial ventures but when you are someone who is trying to break through, it can be tough."

The financial sacrifices would, however, be fully justified if, within the next couple of months, he wins recognition during the World Cup series.

Beechey has already competed in the first of the four-race events in Princeton, USA and good performances in the lightweight coxless fours in the European events could propel him to the World Championships at Lucerne in August.

Having already won a silver at last year's World Championships, he is confident of continuing his development within the sport.

"The long-term aim is the Athens Olympics and I think we will be taking a lightweight eights crew in 2004 but before that there are the World Championships in which I think we can do well. We have a long way to go in the lightweight eights before we are challenging the best in the world.

"The thought of an Olympic medal though is something which is driving us all on."

If Redgrave's success was born out of a ravenous appetite for Olympic greatness, the new breed of British athlete is a truly fitting legacy to the man's stature. Beechey, it is hoped, is just one of many more to come.