Chris Bartley provided one of the defining images of London 2012.

The former King’s School, Chester, student pushed himself to brink of exhaustion after being part of the lightweight men’s four that missed out on gold by less than a second during a dramatic final at Eton-Dorney.

Bartley claimed Wales’ first medal of the home Games as the British quartet were just pipped by the South Africans on the line and had to settle for silver.

But Bartley knew little about it as he finished the race completely exhausted and was even propped up on the podium by his team-mates.

The race caused controversy when a row broke out over whether the men were given a lane which exposed them to the wind, preventing them from beating South Africa who celebrated their first Olympics gold.

That London journey was supposed to be the last rowing chapter for the then 28-year-old.

But the burning desire to try and win one last Olympics gold has driven Bartley onto Brazil, where he will compete at his second Games.

An ever-present in the four since 2009 and World Champion in 2010, Bartley is one of the most experienced rowers in a highly-competitive lightweight men’s squad.

Bartley will be joined in the Rio 2016 boat by fellow London 2012 silver medal-winning crew-mate Peter Chambers while Jono Clegg and Mark Aldred make up the quartet.

Vicky Thornley will be at Rio 2016
Vicky Thornley will be at Rio 2016

“I never intended to carry on after 2012 but losing by such a small margin was one of the factors in carrying on,” admitted Bartley.

“Perhaps if the result hadn’t ended up like that, I wouldn’t have been here now, although winning gold in Rio is not the be all and end all but we have hopes of being on the top step.

“That would be a nice way to finish.

“In our category, the depth of competition has increased hugely. Making the final of top events gets harder and harder each year.”

Bartley, who will be joined on the GB rowing team in Rio by former Bishop Heber High School and Abbey Gate College student Vicky Thornley, is now aiming to use the disappointment of finishing in the B Final at last year’s World Championships to help spur his team on to success in Brazil.

He added: “To finish in the B Final at the World Championships last year was very disappointing.

“We went away, had a good debrief, found the reasons why it happened and we have done everything we can to put it right.

“We’ve addressed it all with a lot of momentum that we now take into Rio.”

Former Chester Hockey Club player Sam Quek will be representing Great Britain in the women’s hockey event in Rio.

The 27-year-old Liverpudlian will be a key part of the GB squad that take on Australia in Group B on Sunday, August 7.