Spectacular Sydney Harbor: A journey back in time

“Hmmm …cool I suppose.” I didn’t know what to say, I hadn’t been back to Sydney for 14 years and now, here I was standing by the Opera House, looking at where I had leaped onto the top of the podium.

I was the girl from Scotland, with the biggest smile, winning what was to be her first Olympic gold medal.

I’m not sure, hand on heart, that I genuinely thought it would happen. So much had to come together at the right time and Sydney was my third Olympic campaign. I knew how easy it was to get it wrong, how narrow the margin is between hero and zero.

13 years on…. first time back…the best of memories. pic.twitter.com/jjELr5DOfl

But standing here 14 years on, waiting for a reaction, tears even, felt hollow, it didn’t feel like “my place.” Perhaps too much time had passed — children, work, another gold medal.

My colleague rolled his eyes in disbelief, hoping for some sort of “moment.” How could I not feel “it?” Wasn’t it the greatest memory of my life? Wasn’t it right here that my everything changed forever? What was wrong with me?

Despite the helicopter noise and spectator boats, it had been oddly silent. I had an eye on my opposition for sure, but to win here my focus couldn’t be them — it was this harbor.

Sydney harbor could bite, you had to understand it, expect the unexpected — and I did. By the last lap, gold was mine to lose. I held my nerve and crossed that finish line one last time.

My life had changed, forever.

Read: Stunning sailing images capture the thrill of ocean racing

Read: Bermuda to host 35th staging of America’s Cup

CNN