Twelve years after he won a historic gold medal in London, veteran rower John Smith hopes to close out his top-flight career with a bang when he turns out at his fourth Olympic Games in Paris.
Smith formed part of the lightweight coxless four crew who won gold at the London Olympics in 2012, along with James Thompson, Sizwe Ndlovu and Matthew Brittain.
He also competed in the lightweight double sculls at the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he finished fourth with Thompson, and in the mens coxless four at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, where they settled for 10th position.
After contemplating retirement following the Tokyo Games, Smith made a comeback last year in the hope of chasing one more medal at the Paris showpiece.
Return to formHe linked up with 24-year-old Christopher Baxter and the duo finished sixth in the mens pair A final at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade last year, though they were nearly 14 seconds outside a podium place.
