Despite retiring after winning a fifth Olympic medal last year, Dame Katherine Grainger has revealed that she cannot keep away from the water.

The Glaswegian called time on her illustrious career after claiming silver in the doubles sculls alongside Vicky Thornley at Rio 2016, and has recently taken up the role of chair of UK Sport.

But even with her retired status, Dame Katherine is still playing a role in the training of the new crop of British rowers taking to the water at the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake, in Caversham.

“I keep in touch with Vicky a lot,” said the 41-year-old, who acted as a ‘tail runner’ at a recent Maidenhead parkrun as part of UK Sport’s #teamparkrun initiative to allow elite athletes to say thank you to the public for their support.

“It’s really nice to have that relationship ongoing.

“And then the women’s quad is quite a new, young, boat, so if they’ve had illness or injury or have swapped round for any reason then I’m happy to jump in for an hour or so, just to go round the lake with them and give them any thoughts that I have.

“I live quite close wo where the GB base is, so I often go down there for meetings in support of the team.

“And when I’m down there, my old coach is still there, so he often gives me a message saying ‘if you’re coming down, bring your kit’.

“They are a very high standard, but sometimes if you don’t have a big experience behind you, you question if things are where they need to be, if it’s good enough, or if things feel right.

“So it’s nice to be able to give that reassurance that they are a good crew and should be competitive.

“I still feel very close to the team, and involved in a good way, but at the same time any athlete or coach who is retired knows that you need to give them their space.

“As lovely as it is socially to keep up with people and emotionally support the team, but you don’t want to be the figure leaning over them in the shadows that lingers for years after you’ve gone.

“It’s nice to support them, but very infrequently.”

Dame Katherine captured the hearts of the British public when she finally won gold at London 2012 after three consecutive silver medals in the previous Games.

Another silver followed in Rio, but she left the sport on a high and in April it was announced she would take up a position at UK Sport.

As Team GB’s most decorated female Olympian, there are few better qualified to take on the role and oversee the organisation’s quest for even greater success.

The six-time world champion began her new job just a month ago, and she admits it did not come without its trepidations, but that she could not imagine a better role in her retirement.

“I’ve just finished my fourth week, so one month done and so far, so good,” she added. “I’m really enjoying it and it’s a very different role for me, I’ve done nothing on this level before.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do when I left rowing, and I think, like a lot of people I know who have been successful athletes for a long time, you do want another challenge.

“I knew I still had a very strong passion for sport, and I knew I wanted to do something within sport, I just didn’t know what role it would be.

“So this is fantastic, it has it’s huge challenges, but also incredible opportunities. It’s a great time to be involved in sport in Britain, and in a good way there are a lot of things that could be even better.

“As an athlete you spend your whole career, as good as any performance is, looking for where things could be better.

“There is a constant drive for improvement and betterment, and it’s nice to be in a job that is the same way, where you can acknowledge what’s been done, but also look how we can improve.”

To thank the public for their support through playing The National Lottery, Britain’s top athletes will volunteer as Tail Walkers at parkrun events across the UK on Saturday August 19. Everyone is welcome at parkrun - be part of it! www.teamparkrun.com