ANDY Hodge has spoken of his pride at winning an Olympic gold medal after battling back from an illness which threatened to scupper his bid for Rio glory.

The Hebden star was struck down by glandular fever in 2015 and was forced to take the whole year off.

It left the 37-year-old facing a huge battle – one which eventually saw him become an Olympic champion for the third time with the men’s eight.

“This is been quite a journey, but the main emotion is relief,” he admitted. “Crossing the line knowing that all the compromise we had to make to make it work has paid off is a huge relief.

“I’ve learnt a lot about what it takes to overcome career threatening challenges and I’m proud to have come out of it the other side with a gold.”

Hodge’s previous gold had been won in the men’s fours, the event made famous by Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent.

But refuses to place his most recent success at the top of his list of achievements

“This third medal sits alongside my other ones equally. They each have such great and varied stories behind them, each giving me an experience that will help me in later life”

Hodge also refuses to give preference to either of the disciplines he has been Olympic champion in. “They’re both awesome for different reasons. The four require a more varied balance of race paces, which the eight requires a belief and hardness to make the raw speed necessary to win,” he said.

However, he does talk with pride about the performance which brought him his third gold medal.

“This was probably the most dominant final I’ve been in.

“The eights is the toughest field at the games, at least four countries thought they could win. To win, by such a commanding row, without the four strongest guys, gives me a real sense of pride as we did it on the back foot, and still dominated.”

The champagne corks were popping after the race and Hodge admitted: “The celebrations have been good. We had a few parties in Rio before I left, and I’ve had a night out with friends back home, but nothing too extravagant.

“I’m a family man now, so getting drunk is lower on the list of priorities, especially when dealing with a three year old while suffering with a hangover!”