After the festival that was London 2012, Team GB delivered a raucous encore at the Rio Olympics – bagging 67 medals in their best ever overseas games.

But for rower John Collins, from Whitton, memories of the Copacabana and Christ the Redeemer bring flashbacks of a crushing defeat that's fuelling this summer's bid for Tokyo gold.

The Twickenham ace was named in the men's double sculls boat as part of a 45-strong Team GB rowing squad for the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday and is desperate to right the wrongs of five years ago.

Collins and Jonathan Walton finished fifth in the 2016 final and were on the outside looking in as Team GB's Rio medallists were paraded on open-top buses and wined and dined at Buckingham Palace.

In Tokyo he'll be alongside Graeme Thomas and the pair have already proven their medal credentials on the world stage, winning a World Cup silver and bronze in 2019.

They finished fourth in their last World Cup race in Lucerne in May and Collins is confident they can reach the Tokyo podium – with one colour in mind.

"This year, we are going there to win, there is no question about that," said the Leander Club athlete.

"The work we have done and the flashes of what we can accomplish that we have seen in training are encouraging.

"We are very much going to win, there is no ambiguity. I am not framing any other medal as a failure but that is a very clear goal.

"A big thing about Rio was coming back to my friends and family afterwards and being empty handed.

"There was a real feeling of being a second-class citizen in such a successful team and I really wanted to give something back to them to say thank you for your support, this is what it meant."

Collins is one of over 1,000 athletes on UK Sport's National Lottery-funded World Class Programme that allows him to train full time, access the world's best coaches, and benefit from pioneering technology, science and medical support.

The 32 year old is now hoping to add to the 864 Olympic and Paralympic medals won by Great Britain and Northern Ireland athletes since the advent of National Lottery funding in 1997.

An issue the Games has to contend with is Covid-19, with talk over whether the Games can be delivered safely still top of the agenda. But Collins is satisfied with the measures taken by organisers.

"I find it really hard to worry about that stuff because I know all the routines I have to go through to do this stuff safely," he added.

"And short of someone pulling my mask off and coughing in my face, I am confident I can do my bit to avoid putting myself at risk and I think everyone is of that attitude as well.

"It is a very real thing that is there but we are doing our bit to make it not a part of our worries."

No one does more to support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes than National Lottery players, who raise around £30 million each week for good causes. Discover the positive impact playing the National Lottery has on sport at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk and get involved by using the hashtags: #TNLAthletes #TracktoTokyo

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