The fifth element in fab four's bid for gold

Obsessed with competing in the Olympics, Partridge believed he had time to recover and at least make Britain's eight-man crew.

But the discomfort wouldn't go away and it was only after the CT scan that a doctor told him flying in the pressurised cabin of an aeroplane or vigorous training at high altitude might have caused his lungs to 'pop' with fatal results.

"Of course, I wish I was out there at the Games in Athens," said Partridge. "I'm thinking about it all the time. It's the only thing that's on my mind.

"I was gutted when I was told my Olympics were over because I'd spent the last four years training so hard. I'd never been injured before and I almost thought I was invincible.

"But it was lucky for me they found what was wrong, and it was lucky for the other guys because they then knew what was going on and they could move on."

The late introduction of Coode means the British quartet lack the experience of rowing together that the Canadians will bring to a final that is expected to be a duel between those two crews even though New Zealand, Poland, Australia and Italy are also on the water.

Partridge, as you would expect, is still backing Britain, especially if Pinsent & Co can match their rivals over the first quarter of the 2000-metre course.

He said: "I've always thought if you want to beat the Canadians you have to dominate from the start. If I was in that boat I would want to shock the Canadians and just go away and keep going away.

"Matt, James, Steve and Ed are great athletes and they have a capability to do that. They also have the capability to really turn it on later on. This is probably going to be one of the tightest races of all time. It is going to be really exciting."

To show he's not been forgotten the British four have named their boat in Partridge's name. This toughest of athletes nearly cracked as he considered the thought behind that honour.

"I didn't know they were going to do that," he said. "I was really flattered.

"The Olympic Games mean absolutely everything to me and they knew that. It is not just for them, they've got to win it for me. And I think they will.

"I'm going to say they're going to win because I want them to win. Because of what's happened they'll want this so much now and they'll be focusing on producing their best row.

"I know the Olympics means so much to Matthew and from everything that he's done in training I think he will be so up for the final. I know James will be, and Steve and Ed are just tough, tough guys.

"It is going to be a tough race but the Canadians will have to do something really special to match it when our guys produce the goods."

Even before the 2004 race is rowed, Partridge has already turned his sights on the Beijing Games in 2008.

He said: "Watching what has been going on in Athens makes me all the more determined that I want to come back.

"It is an unfinished job. I have something to prove to myself. I always want to prove to the guys that I can achieve and that all the time we've spent training together hasn't been a waste.

"I want to win the Olympics. That's all there is to it."