BRITISH oarsmen have cut a swathe through Olympic waters from Seoul to Sydney, Barcelona to Beijing and Atlanta to Athens.

And rowing is again expected to be at the heart of home success in London in 2012.

Spearheaded by Steve Redgrave, our greatest-ever Olympian, Britain has enjoyed a golden era thanks to the likes of Matthew Pinsent, the Searle brothers, James Cracknell, Steve Williams, Tim Foster and Andy Holmes, who sadly died this week.

The next generation are currently in New Zealand preparing for the 2010 World Rowing Championships at Lake Karapiro, near Auckland, the latest staging post en route to London.

Among a 61-strong squad is University of York graduate Tom Ransley, a full-time Lottery-funded oarsman who still competes under the York City Rowing Club banner.

The 25-year-old has returned from a back injury to win a seat in the Great Britain eight, who will launch their bid for world glory in the heats next Tuesday.

Having finished fifth in last year’s World Championships in Poland, the 6ft 5ins tall rower will be gunning for a medal in this year’s final on Sunday, November 7.

Sports editor STUART MARTEL caught up with Ransley at Great Britain’s training base in New Zealand.

SM: You arrived in New Zealand ten days before the start of the championships. How is the build-up going?

TR: It’s going well. We’ve all recovered from the 24 hours flying – 36 hours travel time in total – and accompanying jet lag. Like all the other days in the year, we’re filling these pre-competition days with rowing. Trying to hone and polish the final details, and put the finishing touches to our crew’s method of moving our boat at top speed.

SM: What have you drawn from your experiences at last year’s World Championships, and is the crew better equipped for a medal this time?

TR: I’d like to think 14 months of hard training hasn’t led to no gain. The returning members of that crew will be confident of performing on the world stage again. For many, last year was their first world championships. This year’s eight has come together really well over the year. The individual members have hardened in the training and trialling process, while the last six months of racing has made for a very cohesive crew.

SM: What is it like rowing with people who have achieved so much in the sport, such as Greg Searle?

TR: The GB squad is very successful and have consistently delivered Olympic gold medals over many years. It’s fantastic to have broken into the squad and to have earned a place in this competitive environment. It certainly drives you on to be able to compete against and with some of the best oarsmen in the world. The team is made up of a diverse number of characters, all inputting into the mix. There’s plenty to learn from various individuals, all bringing with them their own background and perspective. From Greg, returning after ten years away, to the guys from the defending World Championship coxless four.

SM: How did you pick up your back injury?

TR: I injured my back shortly after final GB trials in April. Our physios see a lot of back injuries – they’re very common in this sport. The cause of the injury isn’t as simple to point to as, for example, when a rugby player breaks his arm in an awkward tackle (as happened in a game I was watching on TV over here). It’s not a sudden impact injury, but more likely a result of overuse or wear and tear to an overloaded area. We were pushed very hard at that particular time due to the races involved in the trialling process.

SM: How have results gone since you finished third in the senior pairs at the GB team trials in April?

TR: Unfortunately, my injury put me out of World Cup racing. The GB eight picked up a gold in Bled, then bronzes in Munich and Lucerne. Meanwhile, my ‘results’ consisted of infuriating core and stability tests in the physio room, and taking a slow and painful pathway through rehab. However, having returned to fitness, I rejoined the eight for a 12.75-kilometre race in Germany, the EON Hanse Cup, where we came third.

SM: Is the London 2012 Olympic Games your long-term focus?

TR: It certainly is. The chief coach (Jürgen Grobler) prepares his oarsmen over a four-year strategy, i.e. an Olympiad. The training programme is carefully considered to peak once every four years. This is mirrored in approach and planning.

SM: What is your training regime?

TR: It’s quite relentless. We average one day off a month. Training can seem even more endless when that day off is taken up by flying to or from training camps or competitions. Our training consists of weights, erging (using an indoor rowing machine) and rowing.

SM: What are your memories of York and York City Rowing Club?

TR: I’m quite jealous of the continuous long scenic stretch of river up there. We do the vast majority of our rowing on a two-kilometre lake, which is a great facility but means a lot of turning. We are thus spending our days going round in circles. York itself brings back many memories. I loved the people and their accent, and also the streets, with hidden passages weaving around the town, the market, the Minster and loads of great pubs.

SM: What did it mean to be part of York’s Britannia Challenge Cup-winning crew at Henley Royal Regatta in 2007?

TR: Everything. It was a first for us as a club, as a crew, and as individuals. None of the crew had won an event at Henley Royal Regatta before, and we’d come so close to achieving it the previous year, when we were beaten in the final by an Army crew. It was also apparent that the result was a real boost for the club and meant a great deal to many of the members, from juniors to vets.

SM: Do you still keep in touch with people at York City Rowing Club?

TR: Yes, but not as much as I’d like. The training regime doesn’t leave much time for socialising. This year I managed to see a lot of them during Henley Royal Regatta. That was really good, but I still would have preferred to have been competing rather than chatting on the banks.

SM: Finally, what do you hope to achieve in your rowing career?

TR: I’m a bit superstitious, so I wouldn’t want to jinx myself by answering that too openly. I certainly have a clear idea of my objectives in my head, but that’s where they are staying for now. Suffice to say, I’ll need a few more years in the sport to see those objectives completed.