NI's Campbell thanks fans

Published Saturday, 04 August 2012
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Coleraine rower Alan Campbell said the cheering crowd "carried him" over the finish line to win Olympic bronze.

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The 29-year-old rowed his way to a medal on day seven of the London games, but it took everything out of him.

"I couldn't even stand, I couldn't sit, I couldn't lie down. Everything was just hurting. But it was a huge effort and the crowd really carried me over that last 500m of the race and I have to really thank them for that," he said.

For Campbell, the home crowd was to his advantage and he described their support as "insane".

"[The noise] was absolutely deafening.

"It sounded like someone had switched on the old Dolby surround sound and whacked it up to full bass."

Cheering him on was Alan's mother, Jennifer Campbell, who said she was shouting "from about 400 metres to go".

"This is what Alan had hoped for and he told us he could do this, so we had enough faith in him."

She said he spent the winter running on the beach at Portrush, and only took one day off a month.

"He's had to work really hard. He's been out there on Christmas morning when he reckons the others are not training.

"He said that would make the difference between being a medalist and not," she added.

The Co Londonderry man's victory in the single sculls added to Team GB's litany of medals, and he joined fellow NI rowers Richard and Peter Chambers, who took silver in the lightweight men's fours a day before.

"I hope that will inspire and boost sport in Northern Ireland and in my home town," he said of Coleraine's winning streak.

"I know there a lot more talented guys coming up and I do not think we will have to wait as long as we did for another medal and hopefully it is a gold."

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