Rower Elise Laverick has fulfilled her childhood dream by winning bronze at the Olympics.

Elise, 29, from Poling, near Arundel, had been predicting she would win a medal since she was ten.

People just laughed but at the weekend she proved her doubters wrong by taking third place in the women's double sculls.

She was roared on from the stands by her family as she and partner Sarah Winckless crossed the finishing line behind New Zealand and Germany.

Back home, neighbours gathered around their TV sets to watch the race.

Elise said: "It was absolutely amazing. The crowd was going wild. There were so many British people out here cheering the team on."

Proud father Peter, 61, a Worthing solicitor, and mother Elaine, 56, a former Great Britain rower, wept with joy as Elise stepped up to receive her medal.

Peter said: "I am absolutely delighted. They have done brilliantly. It has been an anxious few days but now we can celebrate."

Elaine said: "Women rowers weren't at the Olympics in my day so I'm delighted Elise has made it."

Elise made her Olympic prediction when she joined Worthing Harriers Athletics Club.

She said: "It was my first day and I said it to the first two people I saw outside the clubhouse. A few people laughed but I've dreamed of it since then.

"After the race it was a bit hectic. We had to do back-to-back interviews which took up most of the day but in the evening I had a quiet meal with my family and boyfriend and an early night because I was so tired."

Elise, who competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said: "When we crossed the finishing line it was a mixture of elation and exhaustion. We always knew we were capable of doing it. We had so much support. Now we have fulfilled our dream.

"We went into the race thinking we had a really good chance of getting a medal.

"It was our first Olympic final and we were quite nervous and maybe that reflected in the first half of the race."

Elise and her boyfriend, fellow Great Britain rower Andy Hodge, 25, are staying in Athens this week to watch other events.

The day after she returns, Elise will embark on 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.