Paul Bennett believes British rowing has ‘terrifying’ strength in depth as he gears up for a mammoth campaign that could see him make his Olympic bow next summer.

Preparations for Rio are well underway for Britain’s rowers with Bennett and co securing Team GB a place in the eight at next summer’s Games by winning World Championship gold earlier this year.

That competition will be one of many for the Brits between now and August with University of Oxford alumni Bennett keen to add to his men’s eight World Championship gold medals from the past two years.

And the 27-year-old thinks all the talent is in place for Britain to maintain their legacy on the Olympic stage with a host of rowers ready to step in if called upon in South America.

“Where we are at the moment we have a ridiculously strong British rowing squad and we are moving in the right direction which is really positive,” said Bennett, who has been working with SAS to create a Perfect Rowing Programme which highlights the intense daily routine that Olympic athletes go through in the gym.

“But alternatively it could be a case of let’s get going a little bit because we only have nine months here but I am full of confidence at the moment."

“I think we have a very strong squad and being a member of that squad is very intimidating."

“This is my first Olympic cycle so people who were in London I looked at with awe and now I am rowing with them and sometimes even against them."

“That’s terrifying but that’s the amount of strength there is in this squad, people said in 2014 we had the strongest British Rowing Championships ever and they are things that a lot of the guys feel buoyed by."

“Gold has to be the aim in Rio especially considering there are three wins in the men’s eight back to back. We have to be looking at gold but there is incredible competition out there.”

However, having climbed the top step of the World Championship podium in the last two years, Bennett is refusing to get carried away ahead of Rio.

“The Germans haven’t missed a step and have been with us the whole way,” he added.

“The Kiwis are strong, the Dutch are finding their form and then there are others who are strong and they are all lurking, so the competition is strong."

“World Championship medals are really nice but Olympic gold is a whole other kettle of fish.”

Pete Reed was speaking on behalf of SAS – the leader in analytics software and services. SAS is the Official Analytics Partner of British Rowing and the GB Rowing Team at www.sas.com