IF Olympic rower Steve Redgrave stops training, his heart will turn to flab. He knows that and will be constantly reminded of the fact by his wife Ann, who is a doctor.

Stopping now after years of training would be a shock to his system. It could damage his body in the same way as someone who takes no exercise at all could damage theirs if they suddenly started.

But this is a far cry from the sensational headlines in one national newspaper that has picked up on this fact as proof that he will not be giving the sport up.

Redgrave must train for his heart's sake and it's obvious to anyone that he isn't going to just stop. But rowing is an endurance sport and I think he should and will pack it in competitively.

Credit has to be given to the tabloid for making a story out of nothing. And I wonder if credit should also be given to Jaguar for perhaps pulling off a magnificent publicity stunt.

Redgrave arrived back with his gold only to jump straight into a silver Jaguar, worth nearly £52,000, allegedly from his wife, a surprise present to persuade him to quit rowing.

He even wore a Jaguar baseball cap for the publicity pictures and yet there was no mention of whether Jaguar was behind the gift or not.

I know I wouldn't want my wife to spend £52,000 on a car for me without seeing it first. And if Ann did buy it she needs to consider the fact she has just given Jaguar a mass of publicity for free.

LIKE Redgrave, pentathalon gold medal winner Stephanie Cook faces a dilemma; pursuing a career in sport or in medicine. So far she has succeeded in both equally demanding disciplines.

Does she now seek the trappings which come with a gold medal; the television interviews, the public appearances? Or does she continue with medicine and her career as a doctor?

If I can judge character, then I have a feeling she will do both. She will find the enthusiasm and energy, the emotion and passion, to pursue athletics and medicine as she is obviously dedicated to both.

SHE and Redgrave are both fine examples of sporting legends everyone can respect. But Sir Garfield Sobers shows that, despite heroic efforts in the field, it is very easy to fall from grace.

The 64-year-old allegedly asked to borrow from his former club of Nottinghamshire two old and famous cricket bats. With the first, a Slazenger, he knocked six sixes in a single over.

With the second, a Gradidge, he scored a record 365 not out. He didn't tell the club why he wanted them and now, instead of giving them back, is putting them up for auction hoping to raise £70,000.

A legend in his own right and respected by all, I can no longer look at him in the same light.

He has misled the club and the people of Nottinghamshire, who supported him over the years. The danger is that they may now remember him for this rather than his sporting achievements.

Most people possess a sense of what is fair. The question is has he been fair? Technically the bats do belong to him. But they were in the club's possession for so many years as prized mementoes of cricket's glory days.

I find his actions distasteful - it's just not cricket - and even if he gets £70,000 at auction he is still going to be the loser.

This has taken the gloss off a previously untarnished image and the damage could be irrepairable.

With a trust fund already securing his financial future, it makes me wonder, did he really need the money that badly