NOT MANY people realise this, but when I received my Olympic gold medal, the first thing I thought about was Mickey Skinner, the former England and Harlequins flanker. Standing on the podium in Barcelona, as the national anthem played, I imagined myself as Mickey before an international match singing God Save The Queen with 60,000 people.

It has always been an ambition of mine to play at Twickenham and I felt that this was the closest I had come to experiencing what Mickey had. Of course, the reality of my sporting achievement was very different; in my case, it was just me and my brother, Jonny, singing, while our cox, Garry Herbert, cried hysterically in front of us. To explain my fascination with rugby union and, more importantly, with Mickey, it is important to understand that since I was a child, rugby has played a big part in my life. The first major sporting occasion I saw was in 1982 when my dad took me to see England play Australia at Twickenham and Erica Roe streaked across the pitch. And from the age of six, I regularly played mini-rugby at school. Had I not become a successful rower, my former PE teacher, Mr Timbs, believed I could have been the ‘best No 8 the school ever had’.

So, as somebody who loved playing rugby, Mickey was the player I admired the most and tried to follow. Here was a guy with a combination of great hands, skills and strength, and who was a favourite of the fans, who looked like he thoroughly enjoyed being a rugby player. He was a great character who represented his country with his pride.

What people fail to appreciate about ‘Mickey the Munch’, however, is just how hard he was. The most memorable incident I can remember came during the 1991 World Cup quarter-final against France in Paris when he dumped their No 8, Marc Cecillon, on his back, preventing him from scoring.

I was extremely disappointed for Mickey when England lost the final against Australia, especially after they had changed their tactics before the match. I was 19 at the time — it was nine months before the Olympics — and watched from the bar of the Thames Valley rowing club. Looking back, I suppose it gave me an incredible insight into what it was like to perform at the highest level.

Since my Olympic victory, I have become good friends with Mickey. In fact, I owe him quite a lot. In 1993 I met him for the first time at a charity dinner. He introduced me to a friend of his wife and throughout the evening, he egged me on to speak with her. ‘Go on,’ he kept saying, ‘get in there, she’s keen.’ That woman was called Jenny and we have been married for almost eight years now. Meeting my future wife and sporting hero made it a memorable night.

Having spent time in Mickey’s company, I can safely say he is the most genuine sportsman you could meet. He is exactly the same in person as he is on television or radio: energetic, wears his heart on his sleeve and says what he thinks

Interview by Rob Maul

Greg Searle is competing for SPARKS charity in today’s Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon. For more details visit www.thelondontriathlon.com