Olympic champion Kieran West is looking forward to his final Boat Race on Saturday with a mixture of calm anticipation and cool confidence.

The 29-year-old form Kingston, who won an Olympic gold medal with the Great Britain men’s eight at the Sydney Games in 2000, rowed in his first Boat Race in 1999 and was Cambridge President in 2001.

But West, barred from competing after this year’s race, which is sponsored by Xchanging and is his fourth Blue as a post-graduate, says each one has its own special ‘thing’.

“Each race is unique in itself,” he said. “The first was pretty special but each has its own thing. This will be special because it is my last. But, really, each one is effectively a brand new experience each time.

“The motivation is the same for all of them – you don’t want to lose. You put in the work because of your desire to win.

“I may have more experience than a lot of the others but the only thing that matters at the end is beating them,” he added.

West would clearly love to end his Boat Race career with another victory after winning with Cambridge in both 1999 and 2001.

Cambridge today (Tuesday) weighed in at an average of 4.3kg per man heavier than their Oxford rivals for Saturday’s 153rd Boat Race, sponsored by Xchanging. But West (who tipped the scales at 101.6kg, or 16 stone) refuses to be complacent.

“Weight is good but only if you use it,” he said. “We are quite a powerful crew but you need to harness it.

“Traditionally, a heavier crew does better in a headwind. But this course means that there is not a consistent headwind anyway, and no one side has an advantage.

“In the end, it is not about individuals but how well the crew has gelled. And this crew get on very well.

“To be honest, the best approach to this week is when you are at the water, switch on, when you are away from it, switch off.”

The 2007 Boat Race gets underway at 4.30pm on Saturday (7th April).