OLYMPIC hero Sir Steve Redgrave has spoken in Kent of the five minutes of pain he endured before a lifetime of elation.

The golden star of rowing was in Canterbury to inspire 200 business leaders to achieve tough goals against the odds. He recalled that shattering but special moment in Sydney 2000 when the British team edged out the Italian crew to guarantee Steve's record-breaking fifth gold medal.

He had not been thinking about the pain during the race and there was obvious relief at winning. "But then the pain hits you. I remember leaning over my oar and thinking 'bloody hell, that hurts'.

"My legs were throbbing. It was about trying to catch your breath - and your lungs. What went through my mind was: 'Well, this is going to last for about five or 10 minutes. I think I can put up with that because after that I'm still going to be five-times Olympic champion for the rest of my life. I'll put up with the five or 10 minutes of pain'."

He admitted he was "probably in worse shape" than the other three in the boat, including his long-time colleague Matthew Pinsent.

"It was the roar of the grandstand that got the adrenalin pumping again," he said.

Sir Steve, who was key speaker at a Business Link Kent conference Going that Extra Mile, held in the Clagett Auditorium, Canterbury Cathedral, also described the challenge of coping with diabetes and continuing to succeed at the highest sporting level.

He expected it to end his rowing career but a doctor told him to go on, even though at the time he knew nothing about the effects of the illness on sporting performance. "It's under control and has become second nature," he said.

Sir Steve, now 39, was just 10 when he first dreamt of standing on the Olympic rostrum and having that gold medal hung round his neck. He was inspired by Mark Spitz, the Olympic swimmer who won seven golds, but all at the same Games.

It was not until he was 14 that he rowed for the first time, thanks to encouragement by the English teacher at his comprehensive school. He condemned the national policy of "non-competitive" sport, saying it should be changed.

"Competition is natural in human beings who always had to compete to survive," he said. His East German coach could never understand "how socialist" the British were about sport.

That had never happened in the countries of Eastern Europe, even under Communist rule. "The better athletes got the better coaches, the best equipment and most financial support."

British sporting heroes emerged despite the obstacles - "It's not just about having good athletes, it's about having the will to overcome other than sporting problems."

Sir Steve admitted to being terrified at the age of 22 when he had to speak in public for the first time. Now he is an accomplished motivational speaker and successful businessman.

He recently set up the Steve Redgrave Charitable Trust to raise £5 million for children over the next five years. That sounded a formidable target but, divided into small chunks, it did not seem so bad. He urged business people to apply the same logic.

It was important to set your goal and when you want to achieve it before working back to calculate how to achieve it.

Other speakers at the conference included economist David Kern, consultant David Hall, David Lennan, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, entrepreneur Toni Cocozza and Simon Woodroffe, founder of YO! Sushi restaurant.

*Champion athlete Kris Akabusi is the keynote speaker at Business Link Kent's next event: Do You Seriously Want to Grow Your Business? on April 10 at the Ramada Hotel, Hollingbourne, near Maidstone. Details on events hotline 01732 878555.