By Mark Etheridge South Africa's para-rowers have returned from an international regatta in Gavirate, Italy with a gold and silver medal.

By Mark Etheridge After digging deep to rid himself of cancer, rower Lawrence Brittain is back in the fast lane and hoping to book his place on the South African team for World Championships in France later this year – and hopefully on to the Rio Olympics next year.

South Africa’s top rowers do not accept mediocrity … that much became abundantly clear at the South African Rowing Championships at the Roodeplaat Dam over the weekend.

South African rowers certainly made their presence felt during the three days of racing at the Memorial Paolo D’Aloja Regatta in Piedilaco, Italy.

Although Lawrence Brittain can claim to be South Africa’s first ever rowing world champion, this was by no means his greatest achievement.

By winning the Silver Sculls as well as the Grand Challenge (senior coxless fours) at the 128th running of the Buffalo Regatta in East London at the weekend, South Africa's London Olympics gold medalist John Smith joined a small elite group of rowers.

At the ‘ripe old age' of 34 Sizwe Ndlovu is certainly the ‘old man’ of the Olympian rowing squad based at the Tuks High Performance Centre (hpc) in Pretoria. However, this does not mean that he is slowing down at all.

Imagine winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games and then being told by your coach that you won’t be acknowledged as a true rower in South Africa until you have won the ‘The Grand’.

By Mark Etheridge Every Olympic gold medallist will tell you there's no short cut on the road to ultimate sporting glory – and yet some of them have faced just as tough a challenge a long way out from the blood, sweat, tears and ultimate victory of the battlefield.