Grainger: Life is unreal

Katherine Grainger: Insists life has been unreal since winning Olympic gold

Katherine Grainger has been amazed at how unreal her life has become in the wake of winning Olympic gold with double sculls partner Anna Watkins.

The pair crossed the finishing line first at Eton Dorney earlier this month, leaving Grainger in tears on the victory podium after a hat-trick of near-misses in the past.

The 36-year-old had thought things would return to normal following the conclusion of this summer's Games, however, the rollercoaster is showing no signs of slowing down.

"I think we thought after the race itself it would begin to become normal and get real but we have just had this incredibly wonderful life ever since that it has just become more and more unreal."
Katherine Grainger Quotes of the week

Achievement

"To some extent (I felt) a little bit of relief but I thought there would be more," commented Grainger. "To me it was overwhelming joy and happiness it was such a special achievement.

"Olympic gold is massive any time but in front of a home crowd and with the home nation behind you it was always going to be the most incredible moment for any athlete, so the whole thing was more enjoyment and relishing that moment rather than 'Thank goodness we have done it'.

"It has honestly not sunk in yet.

"I think we thought after the race itself it would begin to become normal and get real but we have just had this incredibly wonderful life ever since that it has just become more and more unreal."

Relationship

Grainger had gone close to gold in Sydney, Athens and Beijing but her partnership with Watkins, which led to an incredible unbeaten run, led to her finally making it to the top step.

Both Grainger, 36, and Watkins, 29, claim they have never shared a crossed word and the former, talking in her role as a partner of clothing brand Long Tall Sally, reckons such camaraderie is invaluable.

Grainger continued: "We have been together three years and for the first year everything just went right, every race was brilliant we had no setbacks, no injuries, no illness, we had nothing between us.

"We kept saying we were going to have challenges and we were going to fight and we were spending so much time together under intense pressure that we were going to crack at some point and we need to be okay with that.

"But honestly three years on it hasn't happened yet and there is no way we could have got that result without the chemistry and trust and the relationship we have between us.

"It was an incredible goal for both of us and an achievement for both of us and we wanted to do it for each other as well as for ourselves and it was so special to enjoy that moment with someone else."