Newbery praises her Bendigo fans

Newbery, a former Castlemaine schoolgirl and tumbler at John Palmer's gym in Bendigo, won gold in the women's 10 m platform at the Olympic Games last year.

Yesterday, she was back in Bendigo at Lake Weeroona as the ambassador for the fourth annual ParticipACTION Day.

"This is where it all began for me and I was honoured to be asked to come back to Bendigo and be the ambassador," Newbery said.

"I had to take a little bit of time out of training for it, but this is me saying thanks to Bendigo."

Newbery's gold medal at Athens last year was Australia's first in the sport since Dick Eve way back in Paris in 1924.

The 28-year-old describes her life as having been a roller-coaster ride since her triumph in late-August, 2004.

"It has been fabulous and I don't think I'm going to be able to top it as my best sporting moment unless I go to Beijing (Olympics in 2008) and do it again," she said.

"It was just an amazing feeling and the whole year since has been great.

"I'm not sure if it has really changed my life... I'm still a mum, I'm still an athlete, I still turn up to training every day.

"But I guess I get to travel interstate a lot more to do things like being the ambassador for ParticipACTION Day.

"A few more opportunities have become available; I get to go to a lot of sporting events that I hadn't been asked to go to before, so it has been a good journey."

Newbery admits she wasn't prepared for the attention that came her away after she claimed the gold medal.

"One of the biggest shocks after winning in Athens was the back-to-back interviews I had with all the media," Newbery said.

"I felt like I was thrown in the deep end a little bit because you don't expect that - it's not what you train yourself for.

"You don't really expect what happens afterwards, and I suppose you're not going to know what happens until it does happen."

The day of Newbery's gold medal triumph remains a mixture of a blur and a clear memory 15 months on.

"It's a bit of both; it's clear in my mind, but I think I was in so much shock that I didn't enjoy it the way I probably could have," she said.

"I went there knowing it was possible to get a medal.

"But I didn't realise what it would be like to stand on the podium and hear the national anthem played at the biggest event I could win.

"I was just so overwhelmed at the time that I didn't get to enjoy it the way I thought I would, but at the same time, it was the best feeling I've ever heard."

Considering the attention Newbery received for winning her gold medal, it seems to have been forgotten that she also claimed a bronze medal with Irina Lashko in the 3m synchronised springboard.

"I don't forget it, because that was the event I knew I could get a medal in."