THREE times Olympic gold medallist Matthew Pinsent will present the best of Worcestershire's companies with a host of prestigious awards.

The rower, a member of the victorious coxless four in the Sydney games last autumn, will join more than 1,700 guests at this year's Midlands Excellence Awards dinner, in October.

The awards are run by Midlands Excellence, a charity which encourages organisations to improve their all-round performance by using self-assessment tool, the European Excellence Model.

Barbourne-based training company SITO was last year's winning small company.

Ian Nield, chief executive of Midlands Excellence, said the guests would be inspired by Mr Pinsent, who was chosen to carry the British flag at the Olympics' opening ceremony.

"Matthew's determination and dedication is an example to us all," he said.

"He's shown that excellence can be achieved by those with the necessary drive - a philosophy shared by us at Midlands Excellence.

"We're delighted that he is able to join us and follow in the footsteps of his rowing partner Steve Redgrave who was the guest at the launch of our organisation five years ago."

The award ceremony is due to take place on Tuesday, October 23, at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.