WORLD champion athlete Ben Pattison said his bronze medal win “hasn’t sunk in yet” as he enjoys some downtime back home in Odiham.

The 21-year-old, who is a member of Basingstoke and North Hants Athletics Club, spoke to the Gazette after returning home from the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where he became the first British man to win a world 800m medal since 1987.

His incredible feat on Saturday, August 26 hit the headlines, particularly because of his humble attitude afterwards during an interview with BBC Sport, when he said: “I don’t know why you’re interviewing me, I can’t think of anything to say. I crossed the line and I feel like I’m going to wake up in a minute.”

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Since returning home, Pattison said the win still feels surreal, adding: “It feels like ages ago but it hasn’t sunk in. I’ve had lots of messages from people I haven’t met and people I haven’t spoken to for ages.”

Pattison, who went to Loughborough University to study business and analytics, headed straight from Budapest to China for another event, before flying to Belgium, eventually returning to his home in Odiham once the season finished.

He took his medal along to Down Grange, in Basingstoke, to show his fellow club members.

Recalling the moment he crossed the finish line, he said: “It was pretty crazy. I knew I was third when I crossed the line but I had to look up at the screen because I didn’t believe it. I went into the race thinking I can get a medal but going and doing it is a different thing.”

“I’m very tired now,” he said, adding: “I’m having a bit of downtime.”

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Pattison’s next challenge will be to prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games being held in Paris.

However, the athlete said he still has to pinch himself at how far he has come after fearing his career was over before it had even begun.

Back in 2020, Pattison was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome - a potentially life-threatening heart condition which can cause an abnormally fast and irregular heartbeat.

He underwent successful surgery but could never have imagined that just three years later he would win a bronze medal at a world athletics event.

Pattison first went to his GP with concerns about his heart aged 10, but said the condition was missed.

“They didn’t pick up on it,” he said, explaining that it wasn’t until 2020 when he used a heart monitor that he realised something might be wrong.

“I noticed that my heart rate was going really high. It wasn’t safe and I went to the doctors and they said I had to stop running, but I said ‘no, it’s my career, I want to do it professionally’. It was diagnosed and I have an extra connection in my heart and I needed it burnt off. It was a scary experience,” he said, adding that his worst fear was not being able to continue with his athletics career.

“They said if I ran it would be a risk and some people can have a cardiac arrest if you don’t get it treated. I had to stop all exercise in case something happened.”

Thankfully, the operation was a success and Pattison has not experienced any problems since.

Now, the athlete is hoping to continue his success at the Olympics next year.

He said his success has been down to “a lot of hard work,” adding: “I started playing football as a young kid and then suddenly realised I was the quickest player on the pitch and my dad took me to the Basingstoke club. I had talent at a young age, but talent only takes you so far. It’s a lot of hard work.”