SHEFFIELD-TRAINED Olympic gold medal hero Luke Campbell said he was overwhelmed when he stood in the middle of his home city to acknowledge thousands of cheering fans.
Queen Victoria Square in the centre of Hull was packed with people who had come to see the boxer - the city’s only medalist at London 2012.
When he stepped out on to the balcony of the City Hall draped in a Union Flag there was a deafening scream from below.
Campbell, who is based at the English Institute of Sport in Attercliffe along with the rest of the British Olympic boxing squad, thanked the crowd and told them how proud he was to come from Hull.
He was joined by hammer finalist Alex Smith, who is also from the city.
And there were even more cheers when Campbell was joined by his partner Lynsey and two-year-old son Leo.
Bantamweight Campbell, 24, made his mark on Olympic history when he beat Ireland’s John Joe Nevin in the final on Saturday night to clinch gold.
Campbell said: “I’m still on Cloud Nine, to be honest with you. All these emotions. Feeling them’s one thing but describing them’s another.
“I’m very overwhelmed and taken back. The support that’s been here is fantastic.
“I’ve always been proud of my town and the people in it.”
Speaking as he prepared to step out onto the balcony, the boxer said: “I’m a bit nervous, to be honest with you. I’d rather get back in the ring and fight three more rounds.
“But they are part of my success because all the support I was getting back home I took into the ring.
“It’s brilliant. I’m lost for words, really.”
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