Rowing

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Great Britain Olympic and World rowing champion Mark Hunter believes he will keep his place in the men’s lightweight double scull at London 2012.

The 32-year-old and rowing partner Zac Purchase won GB’s first ever gold medal in the event at the Beijing Olympics and added a world title in 2010.

“It’s difficult to break a winning combination apart, and win by as much as we do,” he told BBC London 94.9.

“So good luck to someone who tries,” the Londoner said. The duo took a break from their partnership in 2009 and Hunter moved to the United States to coach at  University of California, Los Angeles, but he said the desire to take part in a home Olympics played on his mind.

“It was a great lifestyle, living by the beach, doing no exercise, having a social life, having fun, being normal,” he said.

“Then I started to think about London 2012. “I grew up in the East End and to not be a part of the Olympics would be depressing, and criminal to be watching  it on television,” he said.

“I still believed I would be good enough to come back and compete but coming back was tough.”

The pair returned to competition in 2010 and won the men’s lightweight double sculls at the World Rowing Championships at Lake Karapiro in New Zealand.  “Going on to win the Worlds this year was a storybook ending,” Hunter continued. “Having a year out, coming back, losing for the first time since 2007, then  going on to win.”

However Hunter, who has competed at two Olympics, thinks he will bow out of the sport after the London Games.

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