"I understand what it feels like to recognise that the moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived. You recognise the words: 'Everything that we have been doing until now is about this.' Our athletes are facing a fortnight with no second chances.
"The question in this situation is how well you can cope. Matthew Pinsent and I won nine Olympic golds between us and were fortunate to discover that the bigger the event, the better we performed.
"It no longer mattered how we had fared in the last regatta, or how many punishing training sessions we had done on the water. We learnt, as should the members of our team in London, to channel our energies into the here and now."
With organisers and the Government currently under immense pressure over transport and security failings, morale around the Olympics is at a low.
But with the eyes of the world on the capital, Redgrave has urged Londoners to "seize the moment".
"Nobody knows for certain what will define the identity of London’s Olympics, but my sense is that they will be spectacular," he said.
"This is arguably the most diverse, cosmopolitan city on Earth. Yes, there are 205 countries coming to the Games, but Londoners speak 300 languages combined.
"Athletes exposed to their first Olympics feel as if they have arrived. Rowers, for example, have World Championships every year and while the Olympic programme is no different, thousands more people will come to watch, reminding them that they are part of a much larger entity.
"Remarkably, 2012 has developed into a focal point in so many spheres of British life. Over the past two years, I have seen British companies, even those who are not Olympic sponsors, developing ambitious strategies for 2012. Everybody, it appears, is determined to raise the bar. Finally, we have reached the critical moment. We have to make sure that we seize it. "
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