Double Olympic gold medallist Andrew Triggs Hodge believes his success on the water owes a “huge” amount to being part of Molesey Boat Club.

Hodge joined the club in 2000 and has gone on to win gold medals in the Beijing and the London Olympics, and he regards Molesey as the leading club in the country.

Triggs Hodge was one of five club members named last week in the GB Rowing team squad for the Eton Dorney regatta of the Rowing World Cup from June 21.

The 34-year-old, who won gold in the eights at the Sydney stage of the World Cup in March, said: “At Molesey you learn how to fight.

“You’ve got to fight for training, you’ve got to fight to improve and you have to earn your place. That’s the club’s strength.”

Alongside Triggs Hodge are Moe Sbihi, Colin Williamson, Philip Congdon and Ruth Walczak, who, in her first season with the international team, believes the presence of the Olympic hero has motivated her to win her place.

She said: “It was a massive inspiration that when I was training at Molesey I could see what Andrew was doing and achieving.

“I was looking at him and Moe and thinking that could be me one day.”

It is a reaction that pleases Triggs Hodge, who says he prefers to inspire the younger generation with actions rather than words.

He said: “It’s great to see the guys from Molesey breaking water at this level and showing their potential.

“The good thing about Molesey is that the people there keep your feet on the ground, so I wouldn’t know who I’ve inspired because generally you’re having the mickey taken out of you rather than being told how wonderful you are, which is the way it should be.

“You don’t want to get too big for your boots, but if you can inspire someone with your rowing, then that’s brilliant.”

Hodge was a captain at Molesey for four years with the idea of instilling the
belief that hard work can help you improve both as individual athletes and as a whole club.

He added: “The club has been through a lot of changes and I’m proud to be a part of that.

“I’d argue that it’s the leading club in the country as we’re the only one that caters for such a range of rowers, from juniors to veterans, from beginners to internationals.

“I’m really proud of what Molesey has done.”