Remarkable Mr Wood bowls us over

Move over Sir Steve Redgrave, hailed as Britain's greatest Olympian for the feat of winning gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games.

Make way for Scotland's Willie Wood, now selected to travel to Delhi to compete in his eighth Commonwealth Games.

Admittedly, Mr Wood's medals tally of two golds, one silver, and one bronze does not quite match Sir Steve's five golds in rowing, but whereas Sir Steve's feat has been equalled by three other Olympians, Mr Woods' achievement is unmatched by any athlete in any sport.

Moreover, Sir Steve won his golds sitting down. Mr Wood has to stay on his feet at all times during his event. And repeatedly whacking a bit of wood into placid water hardly compares with the dexterity required to deliver, again and again, a bowl to a precise point over distances of up to 40 metres of grass.

Neither did Sir Steve have to contend with opponents doing their best to sink his boat. Mr Wood has to constantly strive against players doing their utmost to knock his bowls out of play. Sir Steve gave up at the age of 38, whereas Mr Wood is still valiantly competing at nearly twice that age. Sir Steve once said he was "just an ordinary guy who went quite quick in a boat". How true, compared to the remarkable Mr Woods.