REMEMBER WHEN

DOUBLE Olympics champion Grant Hackett trained in the pool from the age of six, tagging along with his brother Craig. But it was not until he was 13 that he took the sport seriously.

‘‘He was always so casual that people didn’t realise his inner strength in the pool,’’ said his mother, Margaret.

Mrs Hackett and her husband, Nev, left their Mermaid Waters home, bound for Beijing to support their son through his third Olympics.

‘‘He always won his races but we didn’t take any notice,’’ said Mr Hackett.

‘‘We thought the other kids must not have been any good.’’

Some 22 years and two Olympic Games later, the Hacketts could not be more proud of Grant’s achievements which included four Olympic medals – two gold and two silver. Their son’s life revolved around eating, sleeping and training for gold, which is why he had seen his parents only twice in the previous year.

But no matter how busy his schedule, the 28-year-old still managed to call his mum and dad every day.

As much as Mr and Mrs Hackett wanted to spend time with their son in Beijing, security restrictions meant they would see him only from the grandstands.

‘‘Security is very tight but we have to give him his credit card because his Visa card expired in Kuala Lumpur,’’ said Mr Hackett.

The Gold Coast born and bred champion was competing in the 400m on August 10 and the 1500m on August 17.

‘‘He’s probably the best prepared for the Olympics than he’s ever been, but you don’t know what to expect,’’ said Mr Hackett.