Olympic rowing hopeful, aged 25, dies in training session at boat club gym

Scott Rennie collapsed on a rowing machine at the Molesey Boat Club in Surrey.

Colleagues performed CPR on the international athlete until paramedics arrived, who treated him for half an hour before taking him to Kingston hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.

It is not yet known what caused the rower, nicknamed "Big Ren", to collapse on Friday morning, although it is believed he may have suffered a heart attack.

His father Stephen Rennie, 55, said his death was the "worst thing imaginable".

"This was not a body that was ever going to stop doing what he loved - rowing.

"I've always known that Scott was a very special son and it has given us a huge amount of comfort knowing how much other people appreciated him and how many lives he touched."

Friend and fellow club member Henry Ellender, 27, told how the rower collapsed. He said: "It was a normal training session. He had been out [on the Thames] for a 16km session in a single boat already.

"We all had breakfast and then he got on the rowing machine to warm the muscles up again before doing some weights. A few of us were in the gym when we saw him collapse on the rowing machine.

"Within seconds it was obvious he had not fainted. The coach began doing CPR on him while I dialled 999. He never regained consciousness.

"He was absolutely dedicated to training. It was his dream to represent his country in the Olympics. Both of us were training flat out to get in the picture and throughout the last year he had achieved a lot of the rungs on the ladder."

Mr Rennie, whose father Stephen, mother Stevie and sister Lee-Anna are from Worcestershire, was a member of the club's high-performance squad.

He finished fifth in the most recent Great Britain team trials last month and had already represented Great Britain at both European and World University level.

He was also due to represent Molesey in the traditional Boat Race fixture against Cambridge on Sunday. The race was cancelled as a mark of respect. Mr Rennie, who lived in Parson's Green, studied at the London School of Economics and Imperial College, graduating last year with a masters in economics.

His girlfriend Gemma Banks was said to be "devastated". Olympic medallists today praised their fellow oarsman. Andrew Triggs Hodge, who won gold in the Great Britain four at last year's Olympics and is the captain of Molesey, said Mr Rennie set the "gold standards" among his peers.

"He came to us with an aspiration to make the Great Britain team and we saw a future in him. He was an undoubted talent. The club is in mourning for the loss of one of our great athletes. He was on a pathway for a significant career."

Beijing Olympic Silver medallist Acer Nethercott said: "Team GB are left without a future international, of that I'm sure. What a great guy. He will be dearly missed."