Ah, so good to be back home in Brisbane, and taking a break from all the hype that was London 2012.

London was an amazing experience, offering up everything you could imagine when you think of an Olympic Games – Huge crowds, buzzing atmosphere, pressures, challenges, highs, lows, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, new friends and more. But, whilst I loved the Olympic Games, all in all I came home disappointed. I was by no means disappointed at the Olympic experience itself – that was amazing, but I was disappointed in myself.

As an elite athlete, I have spent the last four years working towards this moment, racing up and down the pool for hours each day. I’ve shed tears of pain, wrung the sweat out of my gym clothes, pushing my body to the limits, all in the quest for Olympic Glory. I gave it everything in my race, and I did the best I could do on the day, but I know deep down I was capable of so much more. I went into that race feeling great, but a couple of silly decisions and things went from good to bad very quickly. But that’s life – things don’t always go to plan. 11th at an Olympic Games is an achievement in itself, one I am proud of and an experience I am honoured to have had. But as a competitive girl, I wanted more. I must congratulate the Olympic champion – Eva Risztov, after retiring from swimming in 2005 and returning in 2009 to chase her Olympic dream in open water swimming, she is proof that with hard work dreams really can come true. Thanks also to everyone who sent me messages of support throughout the Olympic Games. I really did appreciate it.

Back home and training hard, I’m excited for the year ahead, and especially excited to start my new partnership with Revive Ashgrove. Specialising in Physiotherapy, Yoga and Pilates, the team at Revive are highly qualified, very experienced and boast some of the top sports physiotherapists in the country. I’ll be working with their team of experts to strengthen my core and remain injury free.

One of my favourite quotes is “Anyone can stand tall on the high points, but it’s those who survive the valleys between that will emerge as champions.” This is one of my ‘valleys’, however I believe disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; It strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it… Bring on World Champs in Barcelona 2013, and ultimately Rio 2016!

This post originally appeared on melissagorman.com.au