Olympic and Paralympic gold medalists awarded MBEs

 
21 February 2013

Olympic and Paralympic athletes who won gold last summer have been awarded MBEs for their outstanding achievements.

Britain's LTA mixed coxed fours beat their chief rivals Germany in a thrilling sprint for the line at Eton Dorney in Berkshire - watched by the Duchess of Cambridge.

The winning team of David Smith, James Roe, Naomi Riches, Pam Relph and cox Lily van den Broecke swapped their sportswear for smart suits and stylish dresses for the presentation.

The rowers and their cox were called up together during the Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony to receive the honour from the Prince of Wales.

After the ceremony, Relph said: "It's all credit to the team supporting us that we get to receive this amazing honour.

"I don't think any of us were expecting this honour after the summer we've had, it really just topped off the most amazing year of all of our lives."

Van De Broecke said: "An experience like that of winning gold will never leave you."

Commenting on the fact the Duchess was watching their gold medal performance from the stands, she added: "It was lovely to know people were taking an interest in us."

She made her sporting colleagues laugh by adding: "If you Google our names Kate Middleton comes up."

Amateur boxer Anthony Joshua, who won super-heavyweight gold at London 2012, also received an MBE.

When the imposing fighter, who is 6ft 6in, shook hands with the Prince after the presentation, he said Charles joked with him, saying: "Shouldn't you be playing basketball?"

The boxer added: "Last year was unbelievable, it's a great honour to have an MBE in my family."

His story is exceptional as the 23-year-old only took up boxing at the age of 18 after his cousin, Gbenga Ileyemi, the 2011 ABA heavyweight champion, took him to a club.

Joshua can remember almost every punch and shot of his final gold-winning bout against Italy's Roberto Cammarelle.

He said: "At the end of the second round I was three points down. I couldn't believe it, I was shocked.

"In the corner I said to myself 'You're three points down...doesn't mean you've lost this battle, you've got one round to give it everything you've got.'

"I didn't want to turn it into a scrap so I kept on boxing. I threw my combinations of left and right and pulled it back and it went to countback, where they watch the video replay and add up all the averages and scores, and I won it by two points and became Olympic champion."

Marksman Peter Wilson, who claimed top honours in the double trap shooting competition, was also awarded an MBE.

He said his life had changed dramatically since winning gold but he was now focused on trying to make the British team for the Rio Games in 2016.

He said: "This is incredible, I can't stop smiling. This has changed my life, this is something else.

"I'm going to do my best to go to Rio. It's not quite as simple as rocking up and doing the business, but it's something I'm aiming towards."

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