One Year On - What's It Like Being An Olympic Champion?

You guidelines connected nan Olympic podium and nan golden badge is placed astir your neck.

It's thing you person dreamt of your full life, hours upon hours of difficult activity and sacrifice having led to nan moment.

There's nan first euphoria and celebration, but what happens erstwhile nan world's cameras and attraction gradually displacement distant from that moment?

From activity experience, ballroom dancing, a caller Everest and dressing gowns, BBC Sport speaks to 4 Olympic champions 1 twelvemonth connected to spot what nan reality of achieving their dream really is.

Hannah Scott tasted golden successful Paris erstwhile she won nan Women's Quadruple Sculls for Team GB pinch Lauren Henry, Georgina Brayshaw and Lola Anderson successful a melodramatic final.

Scott, who is besides a world and European champion, said achieving her Olympic dream was "a spot of a whirlwind" but "the item of my life".

"Since I've been 12 I've ever had thing successful my caput astir winning an Olympic gold. I wouldn't moreover talk astir it because I was truthful - not embarrassed - it's much you ne'er cognize if you are going to get 1 aliases not.

"It's not thing I was definite about, it was conscionable a dream.

"I've been figuring my stride retired a spot since then. It's been truthful crazy, successful nan champion way."

Despite only being 25 astatine nan time, Scott was faced pinch a large determination astir her early that was not arsenic straightforward arsenic 1 mightiness think.

It wasn't arsenic elemental arsenic taking a break, past jumping successful nan vessel and going again.

"I spent truthful agelong trying to spell for that extremity of winning an Olympic golden badge that erstwhile you nary longer person that purpose, a batch of athletes talk astir nan struggle after.

"You are benignant of like, 'what do I do now?' and you do person to inquire yourself nan mobility if you want to spell again."

The Northern Ireland rower said it "wasn't an easy decision" and she moreover tried immoderate activity acquisition to get a sensation of nan agency life.

"For your ain sanity, you do person to move connected from that and find nan adjacent thing. I'm happy and contented pinch that and I'm happy being backmost rowing.

"But I had to springiness myself a while. I didn't get backmost into a vessel until astir Christmas clip and that's erstwhile I recovered my stride again.

"At nan time, I wasn't judge what I was going to do but I realised I didn't for illustration nan agency and I missed rowing.

"I didn't deliberation I would miss nan early mornings but it turns retired I do emotion routine."

After deciding to return, Scott had a microorganism that ruled her retired of nan commencement of nan twelvemonth but she is group to return to competitory action for nan World Championships successful September, wherever she should beryllium reunited pinch her Olympic team-mates successful nan Women's Quad.

For Scott, it is conscionable 1 of nan galore "ups and downs" of being an athlete.

"I don't deliberation I'm vanished yet. I want to spot what other I tin do.

"It mightiness beryllium great, it mightiness not. But I'm consenting to return nan consequence to effort because it's an addictive emotion doing precocious capacity sport."

Scott added nan consequence from Northern Ireland was "beyond" what she thought it would beryllium and she is now motivated to "do them proud" aft their support.

However, Scott jokes astir 1 drawback that has travel from nan fame of her success.

"In ways, it was beyond what I imagined, and successful different ways it is still different rowing race. Those things ne'er will change.

"I didn't realise really galore group cared astir rowing. I couldn't spell to nan shop immoderate much successful my dressing gown, which I whitethorn person done previously.

"Now, it's for illustration 'that's nan woman who went to nan Olympics and won nan medal'. I didn't expect that.

"Rowing my was dream and winning an Olympic badge was my dream, and I didn't realise really galore group shared that ceremony pinch me. I consciousness truthful fortunate to person knowledgeable that."

Rhys McClenaghan completed gymnastics' Grand Slam erstwhile he won Olympic golden successful nan pommel equine last aft a stunning routine.

He is now, Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion.

McClenaghan has yet to compete since winning his Olympic golden precisely a twelvemonth agone connected 3 August 2024 and has been sidelined aft caller enarthrosis surgery.

"It's rather ironic really 1 twelvemonth agone I was winning Olympic golden and precocious I was waking up successful a infirmary bed," nan 24-year-old said.

"It's been a crazy year. It's been a twelvemonth of figuring things out, mentally. The reality is I've accomplished a lifelong extremity and puerility dream that has fuelled maine each these years.

"In that 1 small infinitesimal it was done. There's a still a batch of rejigging successful my encephalon still."

McClenaghan said winning Olympic golden "met each ounce of expectation" and "all nan blood, sweat and tears were worthy it for that small infinitesimal and that sensation".

"You deliberation astir truthful galore scenarios increasing up, and nan standout emotion for maine was this - if location was nary 1 successful nan stands spectating aliases cipher astatine location watching, and it was maine successful an quiet room getting that badge astir my cervix it would person still meant conscionable arsenic much.

"For me, that shows I had done nan full travel for nan correct reason.

"But past I opened my eyes and looked astir and saw nan young gymnasts successful nan stands and thought astir those backmost home, and I realised it was overmuch bigger than conscionable me.

"That was an absorbing realisation for me. Having those 2 feelings hand-in-hand was a infinitesimal I'll ne'er forget."

Despite winning everything location is to connection successful nan sport, McClenaghan says he is motivated by "wanting to beryllium nan best".

"I want to triumph a golden badge astatine each title I enter," he said.

"But nan main information for heading into training each time is that I get to do gymnastics. That's a realisation I've had complete nan past 12 months aliases so.

"Even though my extremity was Olympic gold, nan main point that brought maine to nan gym each time was enjoying my sport. "

In a twist from gymnastics, McClenaghan competed connected and won Dancing pinch nan Stars - nan Irish type of Strictly Come Dancing.

It was a different acquisition from nan pommel horse, but 1 he says was "pretty cool".

"It was nan cleanable blend of doing thing different and challenging myself, but besides having those similarities pinch sport, but I'm not a retired dancer" he said.

Since winning gold, he has travelled astir Ireland and visited various gymnastics' clubs to speak to nan stars of nan future.

"I knew really large winning an Olympic golden badge was to maine increasing up," McClenaghan said.

"I'm now successful a privileged position to animate and I don't that work lightly."

Daniel Wiffen made history successful Paris erstwhile he became nan first jock from Northern Ireland to triumph a golden badge successful 36 years erstwhile he won 800m freestyle golden successful nan pool.

It kickstarted a historical tally of 4 golden medals astatine nan Games arsenic Jack McMillan, Scott and gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, who had room connected a enarthrosis wounded past week, each had success

Wiffen, who besides claimed 800m and 1500m golden astatine nan World Championships earlier nan Games, said being Olympic champion "was really amended than I thought it was going to be".

"I didn't really deliberation anyone would attraction that overmuch erstwhile I won Olympic gold. Looking astatine Tokyo, I cognize it was nan Covid Olympics, but I consciousness it wasn't covered arsenic much.

"But Paris was insane. I retrieve stepping down nan Champs-Elysees aft nan title and I could't return a measurement without group stopping me.

"Even group recognising nan Olympics 12 months on, it's awesome to spot nan athletics moving guardant and it will enactment salient each twelvemonth going towards LA, and group will beryllium looking retired for athletes astatine nan World Championships aliases different competitions."

Wiffen said group who had taken up swimming because of him, moreover connected a casual basis, had "changed his mindset" and group getting down nan athletics is "amazing".

The 24-year-old took clip retired of nan excavation aft nan Games to recreation astir Asia, but attentions soon turned to defending his 2 World titles.

"I'm rather a assured person, truthful arsenic soon arsenic I came backmost from Paris I had already written down my goals for nan adjacent season," he said earlier nan Championships successful Singapore.

"It was what I needed to do to triumph golden astatine nan adjacent World Championships, and what I needed to change."

However his way to Singapore wasn't soft and he was diagnosed pinch appendicitis conscionable 5 weeks retired from nan Worlds, and nan information forced him to retreat aft nan 800m final.

After helping Team GB triumph 4x200m golden successful Paris, Jack McMillan took 2 months disconnected to recreation astir Asia and sewage backmost successful nan excavation astir January aft a "reset".

The 25-year-old said Olympic glory "definitely lives up to nan expectation" but "it's still thing I'm trying to fig out".

"When you get to that Everest, erstwhile you've achieved thing you've been training for truthful long, it's a weird feeling.

"Part of you is really satisfied but there's ever thing that you could still do much aliases you commencement to deliberation astir different things afterwards.

"I deliberation that's nan competitory broadside and why we get to these definite levels. We are ever striving for different goals and bettering ourselves.

"Once I discontinue from swimming and look backmost connected it, I tin opportunity I've won Olympic golden and achieved nan fullest infinitesimal I could successful nan sport."

Despite being Olympic champion, McMillan said nan "most pressurised situation" is astatine nan nationalist trials, wherever you only get "one chance" to aquatics astatine world events later that year.

"It's not for illustration you get a smoother thrust because of what you done past year. You commencement backmost to wherever you were and you almost person to beryllium yourself again.

"That gives you much assurance because there's almost a fearfulness of not knowing what you'll execute for illustration because you've had clip off."

McMillan won World Championships golden for Great Britain successful Singapore connected Friday and, speaking earlier nan competition, had said he had been "thinking of different ways to get better" aft his Olympic gold.

"You've reached nan champion point you tin get successful nan sport, there's thing amended really.

"It makes you reassess and deliberation astir what different areas I tin get better, alternatively than reasoning 'that's it done'.

"I want to spell for definite times for myself, and past medals astatine Worlds and Commonwealths will adhd to it.

"It's not needfully nan extremity of nan world if it doesn't happen, because I've already sewage nan champion point you could get successful nan sport, but it's trying to find things deeper wrong yourself alternatively than conscionable having nan accolades."