Olympic rower Elise Laverick has vowed nerves will not stop her winning a gold medal at the next Games.

The 29-year-old, who flew back from the Games in Athens yesterday, told The Argus how a sleepless night before her first Olympic final left her barely able to walk and frozen with nerves.

Elise, from Poling, near Arundel, won a bronze medal with her rowing partner Sarah Winckless in a nail-biting women's double sculls final.

She admitted the pair's nerves prevented them from beating the New Zealand and German teams, who won gold and silver respectively.

Elise, at a media conference in Gatwick, said: "We did not have a great start in the race.

"I was so nervous, like I had never been all my life.

"I did not sleep the whole night before and in the morning I was holding on to walls because my legs did not work.

"I could not walk to the bathroom and we were both putting on a brave face before the race.

"I thought we could have got out the blocks faster.

"The Germans were not as powerful as us but were good technically.

"If we could have got it together, it might have been different. But there are always ifs and buts.

"The fact is, women's rowing took eight athletes to the Games and we came back with eight medals.

"We knew gold was within our grasps."

Elise arrived at Gatwick alongside some of the British heroes and heroines of the 2004 games.

Two times gold medallist 800m and 1,500m runner Kelly Holmes, teenage boxing sensation and silver medallist Amir Khan and rower Matthew Pinsent, who has won a gold medal in the past four Games, all stopped to talk with rapturous fans who waited to greet them.

More than 500 people had crammed in to Gatwick's South Terminal to welcome Team Great Britain home.

After waiting for more than two hours, cheers roared around the arrivals area as the crowd tried to get a glimpse of the medal winners.

Among the fans were Elise's parents Elaine and Peter, who had watched their daughter's victory in Greece.

Peter had brought an oar with a Union Flag tied to the end and passed it to Elise as she made her way through a bustling walkway.

He said: "Delighted is an understatement - I'm as pleased as punch. It's more relief to see her home - it's been such a dramatic couple of weeks.

"I don't mind being here with the fans - we're rowing fans too."

Elise, who also competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said: "We will definitely get the gold next time. I love rowing - I love everything about it.

"We're lucky to do something like this, to see the crowd and what an effect we can have.

"Some people are a little bit jealous but it takes a lot of hard work to get there.

"But anyone can get there if they have dreams.

"Look at all of us medallists - this is something we have been trying to do for years."

Elise and her boyfriend, fellow Great Britain rower Andy Hodge, 25, from Yorkshire, had stayed to watch the track and field events.

Today Elise was starting the final two years of a four-year law course at the College of Law in London, having taken a year off to prepare for the Olympics.

The medallist, who competes for the Thames Rowing Club based at Putney, said: "The course is part-time and, hopefully, I should be able to combine rowing and studying.

"It's quite important to have other interests.

"I want to be a solicitor and I'm quite interested in sports law."

Elise was born in Rustington, near Littlehampton, and attended Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she took up rowing a decade ago.

Horse riding medallist Pippa Funnell, born in Crowborough, had an unusual route to her Olympic success.

She was awarded the individual bronze after the National Olympic Committees of France, Great Britain and the USA appealed against Germany's gold medal win in the eventing competition.

German rider Bettina Hoy had crossed the start line twice prior to beginning her showjumping round.

According to the rules, riders are allowed 45 seconds after the bell rings to start their round.

During that time Ms Hoy went across the start line but did not start her round, making another circle of the course instead.

The German was stripped of her individual victory in the three-day competition, which meant Pippa was moved up a place from fourth.

And as a result, France's riding team got the gold medal, Great Britain the silver and the USA the bronze.