MATTHEW Langridge, who on Saturday will end his career in an Olympic Games final at Rio, says he will not forget where his journey started.

He still recalls sitting in a boat for the first time at Northwich Rowing Club.

“They’re the main reason I’m here,” he said.

“I wandered down randomly as a 14-year-old on day, and now I’m a four-time Olympian.

“Sometimes you pause and wonder ‘What if?’ Had the people there not set me on the path I followed since, how different would my life have been?”

Langridge, now 33, has won medals – one silver, the other bronze – as part of Great Britain’s men’s eight at each of the past two Olympic regattas in Beijing and London.

He races in the same boat in Brazil, where his crew were convincing winners in a first-round heat on Monday.

They return to the water tomorrow afternoon with the aim of beating champions Germany, who won the other preliminary at the start of the week.

Members at his home-town club will gather at their clubhouse, on the River Weaver, to watch on television.

Framed pictures of Langridge are among those on the wall.

A singlet he wore in China, signed by every member of the British crew, is mounted in the centre.

“I didn’t think I’d reach this point,” added the former Hartford High School pupil.

“When I first started to row, it was just a sport I wanted to do like any other.

“The enjoyment of being there kept me going.

“It was fun, and a great environment to be part of.

“I’ve visited other clubs, and seen the way they’re run – I wouldn’t have carried on if Northwich was like that.

“Because it made me happy, I wanted to spend more time there and to train harder to improve.

“I don’t know if I believe kids want to be Olympic champions; they say they want to play football, maybe, but you start doing a sport because you like it.

“Those people that encouraged me, like my first coach Paul Rafferty, were volunteers.

“They made an effort to make me better, which is something I’ll always be grateful for.

 “Guys like Paul give up their free time, and don’t get the accolades for the part they play.

“Nobody will read his name anywhere if we win gold, but it’s people like him I’ll be thinking of.”