The joy of winning an Olympic gold medal can be compared to nothing short of “having a baby.”
That’s how swimmer Cameron van der Burgh described his success in the pool on Sunday, adding: “I will carry it with me for the rest of my days. The proudest day of my life.”
The South African, who clocked 58.46 seconds in the 100m men’s breaststroke final to slice 0.12 seconds off the world record, was the latest top athlete to take part in a live Q&A session with fans on the Olympic Athletes’ Hub.
Overwhelmed by emotion, Van der Burgh admitted it was “extremely hard” to hold the tears back as he welled up during the medal ceremony.
He tweeted: “hearing chariots of fire whilst standing behind the podium was the toughest part. An emotional roller coaster.”
Having shared the extraordinary moment with his family in London, Van de Burgh is looking forward to hugging a special friend when he returns home – his dog.
Until then, he will prepare for Friday’s 4x100m medley heats and continue to enjoy the hubbub of the Athletes’ Village, which he described as “a multicultural melting pot.”
“So many people from around the world meeting in one place, its an amazing place,” he tweeted.
With one Olympic title under his belt, Van de Burgh on Rio 2016 confirmed his intention to go for Rio 2016, declaring: “Being able to do back to back Olympic gold medals is an amazing feat.”
You can follow these and other Olympic athletes on the official Olympic Athletes Hub.