British rowing is entering an exciting new era following the retirement of Matthew Pinsent, according to several of the sport's leading figures. Pinsent bowed out on Tuesday after winning his fourth Olympic gold medal in Athens in August.
GB coach Jurgen Grobler said: "Rowing has to move on and find a new era."
Olympic gold medallist Garry Herbert added: "It's exciting times. We've got four years to create new champions. But we have the system to do it."
Of Pinsent's coxless four crew from Athens, two-time Olympic champion James Cracknell and Ed Coode are to take a year off before deciding on their futures, while Steve Williams has yet to declare his intentions.
 |  There is a good base of talent coming through |
Britain's five-time Olympic great Sir Steve Redgrave, Pinsent's crew-mate for three of his four gold medals, also quit the sport after the Sydney Games four years ago.
Grobler, who is continuing in the job he started in 1992, added: "Now is a big challenge for me as a coach to do it again with new athletes and bring them to the top in four years' time.
| The fires are burning inside Partridge |
"I'm very competitive and I am really looking forward to that."
BBC commentator Herbert, who coxed the Searle brothers to gold in Barcelona in 1992, roared Pinsent and co. to victory over Canada by eight hundredths of a second in August.
And he insisted the next four years would establish whether British rowing is based on more than just the feats of a couple of individuals.
"Without a doubt we have the coaches to produce greatness. It's a question of everybody keeping the faith," he said.
Herbert insisted the future of British men's rowing lies with the likes of Alex Partridge and Andy Hodge, who combined to win the national trials earlier this year.
American-born Partridge was robbed of a berth in Pinsent's boat for Athens after being diagnosed with a punctured lung in the build-up to the Games.
 Hodge won the British trials with Partridge in 2004 |
"It was very emotional for him to sit through the final after having his dream ripped away through no fault of his own. The fire is burning inside him now," said Herbert.
Other than the coxless four, no other British men won a rowing medal in Athens and Herbert admitted the team would have to address some deficiencies.
But with two silvers and a bronze - in the pair, quadruple sculls and double sculls - he insisted the future of British rowing in the post-Pinsent era could rest with the women's team.
"The attention could shift to the women and rightly so," he said.
"The majority of the squad will still be together in four years' time and they could be looking at two or three good medals, compared to maybe just one for the men."
Cracknell, who will reassess his motivation in a year's time, was nevertheless upbeat for the future.
He said: "There is a good base of talent. There is a crop of young guys coming through. We may not have had the best Olympiad but we will have a good run up to Beijing."
MMIX
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