PETE Reed admits part of him would love to be embarking on mission impossible in the pairs event at London 2012 – but after storming into the semi-final in the four, he admits a second Olympic gold medal will be worth the sacrifice.


After winning Olympic gold in the four at Beijing 2008 along with Tom James and Steve Williams, Reed and Andy Triggs-Hodge moved to the pair and hoped to top the London 2012 podium in that event.


But at every major meet in the ensuing three years they ran into New Zealand duo Hamish Bond and Eric Murray in irresistible form, settling for a seemingly never-ending string of silver medals.


As a result Reed and Triggs-Hodge moved back to the four for 2012, and promptly secured gold at the first two World Cups of the season in Lucerne and Belgrade.


At London 2012, Reed‘s campaign got off to an emphatic start and the quartet cruised into the semi-finals yesterday – but the two-time world champion confesses part of him would love another crack at the Kiwis.


“I am always up for a fight, it is what I love most – getting into a boat and going up against someone. Part of me would love to be in the pairs sticking it to them, that’s just who I am,” said the former Cirencester Deer Park School pupil.


“But with these guys, the feeling in the boat with that teamwork and that atmosphere of really driving together is something you don’t get in the pairs and that is equally as strong.


“It’s fantastic to be with these guys and I wouldn’t give this up for much and it is just fantastic to be part of this team at the moment.”


While the Great Britain four arrived at London 2012 as the reigning world and Olympic champions they are far from a shoo-in for gold, and the Australian quartet, which defeated Reed and co at the last World Cup of the season in Munich, qualified from their heat more than three seconds quicker.


But while Reed happily admits that the Aussies are formidable opponents, he’s adamant it would be too premature to focus their attentions on anyone but themselves just yet.


“We have had a great few training camps and we feel we have made a big step and it was about seeing if that was good enough and I think we came out of this race with a good bit of feedback for our rhythm,” he added.


“So we are very happy with where we are but most importantly we are looking forward to stepping on.  “The heat opened the door, the semi-final we have got to look through it and then the final we have got to walk through it.


“The heats are always my most nervous race because you don’t know how it is going to pan out.


“The Australians are a very talented crew and they have got a lot of fight and they always bring something interesting to every race.


“We respect them of course but you can’t afford not to watch out for the other crews.”


Reed and his crew compete in their semi-final on Thursday morning.