Sharon Gayter

Athlete

"The Commonwealth 24 Hours was a great step forward in progression, recognition and publicity for this sport.  Surely one of the toughest in the Commonwealths and for me personally I dreamt of the gold medal all year.  It had been the main focus of the entire year and was my first ever International 24 hours with "home advantage". 

To have home support and little travelling, be able to see the course before hand and have knowledge of expected weather helped my performance immensely.  Having friends to watch me run was great for them and all the spectators that came to watch, had a break, came back again, went back to sleep overnight and then came out again to support us all, hopefully it helped others to understand what the 24 hours was all about. 

I heard the comments "yes, they probably go to sleep for a couple of hours at night", but may be they would have noticed there weren't any beds and we do not stop at all other than for essentials to keep us going.

I was rewarded with a gold medal and it was a very proud moment to be the first to stand on the top of the podium, hear my National Anthem, and watch the crowds stand for my performance. It was the crowning glory for me and is a great conclusion for my book coming out shortly"