Sir Steve Redgrave’s winning ways with type-2 diabetes

Whatever type of diabetes you have, knowledge and personally-tailored treatment are vital for living a full life, says Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave.
The key to living a full life with diabetes is knowledge, says five times Olympic gold medal winner Sir Steve Redgrave, diagnosed with diabetes nearly 20 years ago, says: “The more information you can equip yourself with about diabetes, the better life you can have. Get educated and act on what you know.”
Sir Steve, 53, has type-2 diabetes, probably genetic in origin.

“I thought I had type 1 but a diabetes specialist said I had type-2. Whatever the type, though, the key is to control it well.”
He acknowledges that there is a stigma attached to type-2 diabetes. “People think it’s less serious than type 1, he says, “but type-2 can be more serious because it develops slowly and it is often not diagnosed until there is complications.

“People also feel that there is a hierarchy of treatments, with dietary control at the bottom. Followed by tablets and finally injections as a last resort, but I think there should be a more flexible approach with treatment tailored to each person’s lifestyle.”
Sir Steve started his treatment with injections, because is highly active training lifestyle meant other methods worked less well.

He is no longer a competitive rower but his life still makes managing diabetes a challenge.
“Meetings, travel, work in my charitable foundation and my business interest as well as games of golf mean every day is different,” he says. “I use an insulin pump with a blood sugar monitoring system, which gives me greater control over my diabetes. As a result my general health has never been better – though I ensure I attend my regular health checks.”