One year on - What's it like being an Olympic champion?

BBC News

4 days ago

You stand on the Olympic podium and the gold medal is placed around your neck.It's something you have dreamt of your entire life, hours upon hours of hard work and sacrifice having led to the moment. There's the initial euphoria and celebration, but what happens when the world's cameras and attention gradually shift away from that moment?From work experience, ballroom dancing, a new Everest and dressing gowns, BBC Sport speaks to four Olympic champions one year on to see what the reality of achieving their dream really is.
'What do I do now?'
Hannah Scott tasted gold in Paris when she won the Women's Quadruple Sculls for Team GB with Lauren Henry, Georgina Brayshaw and Lola Anderson in a dramatic final.Scott, who is also a world and European champion, said achieving her Olympic dream was "a bit of a whirlwind" but "the highlight of my life"."Since I've been 12 I've always had something in my head about winning an Olympic gold. I wouldn't even talk about it because I was so - not embarrassed - it's more you never know if you are going to get one or not. "It's not something I was certain about, it was just a dream."I've been figuring my stride out a bit since then. It's been so crazy, in the best way."
Despite only being 25 at the time, Scott was faced with a big decision about her future that was not as straightforward as one might think.It wasn't as simple as taking a break, then jumping in the boat and going again."I spent so long trying to go for that goal of winning an Olympic gold medal that when you no longer have that purpose, a lot of athletes talk about the struggle after. "You are kind of like, 'what do I do now?' and you do have to ask yourself the question if you want to go again."The Northern Ireland rower said it "wasn't an easy decision" and she even tried some work experience to get a taste of the office life."For your own sanity, you do have to move on from that and find the next thing. I'm happy and content with that and I'm happy being back rowing."But I had to give myself a while. I didn't get back into a boat until around Christmas time and that's when I found my stride again. "At the time, I wasn't sure what I was going to do but I realised I didn't like the office and I missed rowing. "I didn't think I would miss the early mornings but it turns out I do love routine."
'You can't go to the shop in your dressing gown'
After deciding to return, Scott had a virus that ruled her out of the start of the year but she is set to return to competitive action for the World Championships in September, where she should be reunited with her Olympic team-mates in the Women's Quad. For Scott, it is just one of the many "ups and downs" of being an athlete."I don't think I'm finished yet. I want to see what else I can do. "It might be great, it might not. But I'm willing to take the risk to try because it's an addictive feeling doing high performance sport."Scott added the response from Northern Ireland was "beyond" what she thought it would be and she is now motivated to "do them proud" after their support. However, Scott jokes about one drawback that has come from the fame of her success."In ways, it was beyond what I imagined, and in other ways it is still another rowing race. Those things never will change. "I didn't realise how many people cared about rowing. I couldn't go to the shop any more in my dressing gown, which I may have done previously. "Now, it's like 'that's the girl who went to the Olympics and won the medal'. I didn't expect that. "Rowing my was dream and winning an Olympic medal was my dream, and I didn't realise how many people shared that celebration with me. I feel so lucky to have experienced that."
'I had done the whole journey for the right reason'
Rhys McClenaghan completed gymnastics' Grand Slam when he won Olympic gold in the pommel horse final after a stunning routine. He is now, Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion.McClenaghan has yet to compete since winning his Olympic gold exactly a year ago on 3 August 2024 and has been sidelined after recent shoulder surgery. "It's quite ironic how one year ago I was winning Olympic gold and recently I was waking up in a hospital bed," the 24-year-old said."It's been a crazy year. It's been a year of figuring things out, mentally. The reality is I've accomplished a lifelong goal and childhood dream that has fuelled me all these years."In that one little moment it was done. There's a still a lot of rejigging in my brain still."McClenaghan said winning Olympic gold "met every ounce of expectation" and "all the blood, sweat and tears were worth it for that little moment and that sensation"."You think about so many scenarios growing up, and the standout feeling for me was this - if there was no one in the stands spectating or nobody at home watching, and it was me in an empty room getting that medal around my neck it would have still meant just as much."For me, that shows I had done the whole journey for the right reason."But then I opened my eyes and looked around and saw the young gymnasts in the stands and thought about those back home, and I realised it was much bigger than just me."That was an interesting realisation for me. Having those two feelings hand-in-hand was a moment I'll never forget."
Despite winning everything there is to offer in the sport, McClenaghan says he is motivated by "wanting to be the best"."I want to win a gold medal at every competition I enter," he said."But the main motivation for heading into training every day is that I get to do gymnastics. That's a realisation I've had over the past 12 months or so. "Even though my goal was Olympic gold, the main thing that brought me to the gym every day was enjoying my sport. "In a twist from gymnastics, McClenaghan competed on and won Dancing with the Stars - the Irish version of Strictly Come Dancing. It was a different experience from the pommel horse, but one he says was "pretty cool"."It was the perfect blend of doing something different and challenging myself, but also having those similarities with sport, but I'm not a retired dancer" he said.Since winning gold, he has travelled around Ireland and visited various gymnastics' clubs to speak to the stars of the future."I knew how big winning an Olympic gold medal was to me growing up," McClenaghan said."I'm now in a privileged position to inspire and I don't that responsibility lightly."
'It was better than I thought it was going to be'
Daniel Wiffen made history in Paris when he became the first athlete from Northern Ireland to win a gold medal in 36 years when he won 800m freestyle gold in the pool. It kickstarted a historic run of four gold medals at the Games as Jack McMillan, Scott and gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, who had surgery on a shoulder injury last week, all had successWiffen, who also claimed 800m and 1500m gold at the World Championships before the Games, said being Olympic champion "was actually better than I thought it was going to be"."I didn't really think anyone would care that much when I won Olympic gold. Looking at Tokyo, I know it was the Covid Olympics, but I feel it wasn't covered as much. "But Paris was insane. I remember walking down the Champs-Elysees after the race and I could't take a step without people stopping me. "Even people recognising the Olympics 12 months on, it's great to see the sport moving forward and it will stay prominent every year going towards LA, and people will be looking out for athletes at the World Championships or other competitions."Wiffen said people who had taken up swimming because of him, even on a casual basis, had "changed his mindset" and people getting behind the sport is "amazing".
The 24-year-old took time out of the pool after the Games to travel around Asia, but attentions soon turned to defending his two World titles."I'm quite a confident person, so as soon as I came back from Paris I had already written down my goals for the next season," he said before the Championships in Singapore."It was what I needed to do to win gold at the next World Championships, and what I needed to change." However his path to Singapore wasn't smooth and he was diagnosed with appendicitis just five weeks out from the Worlds, and the condition forced him to withdraw after the 800m final.
'Going again is a weird feeling'
After helping Team GB win 4x200m gold in Paris, Jack McMillan took two months off to travel around Asia and got back in the pool around January after a "reset".The 25-year-old said Olympic glory "definitely lives up to the expectation" but "it's still something I'm trying to figure out"."When you get to that Everest, when you've achieved something you've been training for so long, it's a weird feeling. "Part of you is really satisfied but there's always something that you could still do more or you start to think about other things afterwards. "I think that's the competitive side and why we get to these certain levels. We are always striving for other goals and bettering ourselves. "Once I retire from swimming and look back on it, I can say I've won Olympic gold and achieved the fullest moment I could in the sport."
Despite being Olympic champion, McMillan said the "most pressurised situation" is at the national trials, where you only get "one chance" to swim at international events later that year. "It's not like you get a smoother ride because of what you done last year. You start back to where you were and you almost have to prove yourself again. "That gives you more confidence because there's almost a fear of not knowing what you'll perform like because you've had time off."McMillan won World Championships gold for Great Britain in Singapore on Friday and, speaking before the competition, had said he had been "thinking of other ways to get better" after his Olympic gold."You've reached the best thing you can get in the sport, there's nothing better really. "It makes you reassess and think about what other areas I can get better, rather than thinking 'that's it done'. "I want to go for certain times for myself, and then medals at Worlds and Commonwealths will add to it. "It's not necessarily the end of the world if it doesn't happen, because I've already got the best thing you could get in the sport, but it's trying to find things deeper within yourself rather than just having the accolades."