As Britain woke up to the news that Adam Peaty had won Olympic gold in the 100 metres breaststroke in Rio, no one was feeling prouder than his grandmother Mavis.
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Many sportsmen say they “can’t believe it” in the moment of achieving their lifetime goal but in the case of Adam Peaty, who posted another world record and won Britain’s Rio first gold on Sunday, it seemed like he really meant it.
But he also became the first British man to win gold in the pool since Adrian Moorhouse won the same event 28 years ago.
He completed the first 50m in 26.61, 0.08 under world record pace and a blistering second length saw him enhance his advantage.
The 21-year-old finished a remarkable 1.56 seconds ahead of second-placed South African defending champion Cameron van der Burgh.
Adam joked about his grandmother’s soaring popularity, saying: “It took me so long to get 3,000 followers on Twitter and she got it overnight”.
“London was so much to me”.
“She’s never doubted me, and that means so much to me”.
He added: “To do that in an Olympic Games is everything I’ve ever dreamed of”.
But Peaty, who has double Olympic champion and four-time medallist Rebecca Adlington as a mentor and his City of Derby coach Mel Marshall to guide him, will not be resting on his laurels.
Carlin said: “I’m over the moon”.
Mavis Williams has become something of an internet sensation in recent days as she cheered on her grandson to Olympic gold in Brazil from her home in Uttoxeter, England.
“I knew this arena would be absolutely flawless for me”, said the Briton, whose parents were in the audience shedding tears of delight.
Since joining the social media network when Staffordshire-born Peaty qualified for the Olympics, Mrs Williams has even earned her own hashtag – #OlympicNan. My stroke felt absolutely unbelievable tonight and I just kept pumping it through. I know there’s more in there and we’ll see. My parents have been there from the start and always push me forward.
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Peaty came into the Games as a world, European and Commonwealth champion and the world record holder. “That’s what I love to do”.
