Gold medallist is ready to start her 'real job'

Imogen Grant started rowing after being tempted into the sport by free drinks at university

An Olympic gold medallist said she was ready to start her first "real job" after becoming a rowing champion at the Paris games.

Imogen Grant, 28, won the women's lightweight double sculls by almost a length on 2 August, alongside Emily Craig.

The University of Cambridge graduate first started rowing after signing up for a taster session in exchange for two free drinks in freshers' week.

Grant, from Cambridge, told the BBC her gold medal was the "best possible" souvenir to depict her journey in the sport.

The victory completed a remarkable run for both Grant and Craig, who have been unbeaten since missing out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics by 0.01 seconds.

Imogen Grant and Emily Craig have rowed together since 2019

"The final was probably one of the best races we've done together, the most complete," she said.

"That's really satisfying to be able to show your best at the biggest sporting event in the world."

It came after "seven or eight years" of dreaming that a medal could one day be a reality.

"After the result in Tokyo coming fourth, [I was] thinking that it might never happen and I might have to be OK with that," Grant continued.

"Then it has happened in the best way possible, so it just feels amazing."

Imogen Grant (left) and Emily Craig have added the Olympic title to their world and European triumphs

Grant, who studied at the university's Trinity College, graduated in 2023 having completed her medical degree.

She said starting her first foundation year as a doctor on Wednesday would be her "first real job ever".

"It feels like my responsibility to go and do something I've been working towards almost as long as I've been working towards the Olympics," the medallist added.