Greg Searle

Greg’s story starts back in August 1992, when he won gold at the Barcelona Olympics aged 20 competing with his brother Jonny and cox Garry Herbert. When Garry called If not now, when? – which was later to become the title of Greg’s autobiography – the Searle brothers produced an extraordinary sprint finish to win what many describe as one of the greatest rowing races of all time. Exactly 20 years later, the stage was set for Greg to make history as he lined up for the final of the men’s eights at the 2012 London Games.

The British crew had agreed to leave nothing in the tank in a bid to win gold and the fairytale ending looked to be within their grasp as they took the lead just after the halfway mark. But despite enormous home support, they couldn’t hold off the previously unbeaten Germans and bravely hung on to win bronze. The disappointment was clear to see as the team stood on the medal podium but Greg is well aware of the huge contrast a few centimetres make having finished an agonising 4th place at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Having competed at the 1996 Atlanta Games, from which Britain returned with just one gold medal, and London 2012, where Team GB bagged an amazing 29 golds, Greg believes he has a unique insight into how to develop and maintain success within individuals and teams. On a personal level, Greg felt he was a much smarter athlete in 2012 as a result of his extensive sporting and corporate experiences. He realised he needed to adapt and work more effectively within a team environment if he was to fulfil his potential.

After the Sydney Games, Greg chose to leave rowing behind and joined the British Americas Cup sailing team for their campaign in New Zealand. He had to adapt to being a newcomer in a sport with a very different culture, living on the other side of the world with his young family and having a serious cycling accident in Auckland six months before racing started. On his return to the UK, he started working full time in business consultancy and performance coaching, providing everything from one off speeches to ongoing team development programmes.

Gregs autobiography, If Not Now, When?, was warmly received by critics and readers. The Daily Telegraph review described it as a fascinating rea, laced with triumph (and) tragedy and Greg is very proud of his 4.1 star rating on Amazon!!