LONDON -- From across a crowded room, Steve Redgrave hardly looks like a legendary athlete. He's lanky, excessively polite and his hair is thinning at an alarmingly quick rate. He walks around wearing a sheepish grin and his laugh is loud and long. If you didn't know any better, you'd swear he's the guy next-door.

However, there's nothing ordinary about the success Redgrave has enjoyed over his career. In Sydney last month, the British rower became the first Olympian to win gold at five successive Games in an endurance event. He's triumphed at the World Championships a record nine times, he'll soon be knighted by the Queen and he's loved by an entire nation. In fact, 7.5 million Britons stayed up well past midnight on Sept. 23 to watch Redgrave win the coxless fours on TV.

After claiming his fourth gold in Atlanta, the now-38-year-old called it a career. The pressure to rewrite the history books just seemed too great at the time. Although he enjoyed having more chances to work on his golf game, the retirement didn't last long. Redgrave pulled an about-face and spent the better part of the last four years eyeing a fifth Olympic gold.

Now everyone wants to know whether or not he'll go for a sixth in Athens. Last week at a London hotel, Redgrave granted The Japan Times an exclusive interview. He spoke candidly about his illustrious career, the state of rowing today and something every American is dying to know: his feelings on rugby union.

You've dominated your sport for so many years and you're still going strong. What's the key to your longevity?

Enjoyment. I've been rowing for 25 years and I've enjoyed nearly every minute of it. If you don't enjoy doing something, you won't do it for a very long period. You have to love something to do it for this long.

Also, success. I suppose people like doing things they're good at. I don't see myself as the most talented in this sport. I'm reasonably talented, but I had to work for the awards and races I've won and the success I've had. There's been a rightful balance between the amount of work that's gone in and getting the rewards back. If it comes too easy, you get bored and move on. If it comes too hard, you give up trying. It's been challenging, but those challenges have kept me going over the years.

Four years ago you said your goodbyes. What motivated you to come back and seek a fifth gold medal?

What brought me back was that I thought the Sydney Olympics were going to be fantastic. I love Australia, I love Sydney as a city. I just thought the Olympics were going to be tremendous. Normally when you raise your expectations so high, they end up going unmet. I wasn't disappointed at all. I thought the Australians did a tremendous job. If I were at home watching the Games on TV, I would've been disappointed I wasn't there.

You've competed as an Olympian in Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney. Which was the most memorable?

Your first Olympic experience is probably the best. I've been to five so I have a lot to compare from. The glitz of Los Angeles, and the fact that I was young and hadn't traveled much, made it a tremendous experience. Also, I had never won a major event the first time I competed in it. Winning that gold was such a big step. It all happened at once.

But each Games have had their own elements as far as why they're so special. Atlanta was probably the most disappointing. They were overstated in terms of how great they were going to be by the host nation. I think the Australians were nervous about making that same mistake and so they made the right adjustments. They were very understated. In fact, I heard the organizers were worried they wouldn't be good. With that attitude you're bound to do well. Also, the Australians have such a great sporting culture and that set the Sydney Games apart.

You'll be 42 years old in 2004. Can you see yourself going for a sixth gold medal?

That's tough to answer because you focus on a certain date for such a long period of time. For me, that date was Sept. 23 at half past 10 in the morning in Sydney in 2000. That was ingrained in my brain for a very long time. That's all I've been training for. Now people ask 'What's next?' But you don't really have much vision of what you'll do afterward until you get there. And my feet haven't hit the ground yet.

I haven't had the opportunity to see what I'm going to do now. Normally after the Olympics that comes relatively quickly. But this time I'm really enjoying the experience and I'll make those decisions at the right time and the right place. Now I'm just going to go on vacation next week with my wife and three kids. But in a few weeks, after the accolades of this one die down, I may decide I want a piece of that action.

You'll call The Japan Times the moment you decide, right?

(Laughing) Most definitely. It'll be an exclusive.

After your achievement in Sydney, many called you the greatest Olympian ever. Who do you think the greatest Olympian is?

I always look at Mark Spitz. I remember reading the headlines about the Munich Games when I was a 10-year-old. It was probably him that inspired me to go on and try to be a gold medalist myself. As an Olympian, it would be him. But you know, I've never met him in my life.

Rowing as an Olympic sport is suffering in terms of popularity.

How do you assess the situation?

The number of countries that compete is actually very few. That's something that rowing is very much aware of. I don't think we'll ever get kicked out (of the Olympics), but the threat is always there. As a sport, we must try and get as many countries to compete at the highest level. I think we have something like 61 or 62 countries trying to qualify for the Games and 50 or 51 competing in them. We need to push that quota up. We have 14 events and give out 14 gold medals. That's a relatively small amount of countries for the amount of events we have. That has to be addressed.

The IOC are always trying to put quotas on our athletes. In my first three Games there were no quotas at all. If a country felt you were good enough to go, you could go. Now there's a limit to the amount of boats countries can send. In Atlanta it was 600. In Sydney it was 500. I hope they stop squeezing the numbers.

If you never went into rowing, what do you think you'd be best suited for?

I probably would've played rugby union, but as an American, you probably wouldn't know what that is.

It's that game where they break for tea and biscuits, right?

(Laughing) It's gridiron without pads and it's fun.

Drugs are clearly plaguing the Olympics. How distracting were the doping stories that came out of Sydney?

For me personally, I don't think it was distracting at all. Within our sport and our international association, if you're caught with drugs you're banned for life. And that's how it should be. A two-year or four-year ban is crazy. You have to send a message. If people abuse the system then they're out. It's that simple.

Your coach is German and you've had your share of success over the years. In England there seems to be a feeling that a foreigner shouldn't be hired to coach the national soccer team. What are your feelings about this?

I've offered my services but no one seems to take me seriously. Honestly, I don't see any problem at all with there being a foreign coach. It's all about getting the best man for the job.

Where do you keep your medal haul?

They were in a museum until I raced in Sydney. Then they were brought to the Olympics to have some photographs taken. Now they're back with me at the moment, but they'll probably be going back to the museum. That's the safest place for them. Plus, that way everyone can enjoy them.