WITH his feet firmly back on the ground after a flying visit to Beijing, Walkford youngster Steven Dow cannot quite believe his Olympic adventure is all over.

The 14-year-old travelled to the Games in China after winning an online Daily Echo and McDonalds competition to become a young sports reporter and ended up in a surprise meeting with double gold medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington.

During the lead-up to the trip, Steven had the chance to interview James Cracknell and Sebastian Coe as well as visiting the site of the London 2012 games.

Steven, whose winning entry was written about his favourite sportsman Michael Phelps, spent four days in the Chinese capital exploring the Olympic village and mingling with some of the most successful sports stars ever.

He said: "I can't believe I'm home and it's all over. It's just been the most amazing whirlwind adventure ever. I had the chance to interview Carl Lewis on film, which was pretty awe-inspiring. And I was so surprised when we were invited to meet some of the athletes at a medal ceremony at USA House.

"I couldn't believe I was in the same room as Rebecca Adlington, Daley Thompson, Carl Lewis and Darren Campbell. It was crazy."

Steven added: "They were all such nice people. Daley Thompson and Carl Lewis were quite happy to chat to us for a while. And we also got to interview Beth Tweddle, who just missed out on a medal in the gymnastics.

"She was so interesting and told us the first thing on her agenda is a holiday but she intends to take it one year at a time in terms of the 2012 Games.

"The thing that struck me about all the athletes was the amount of team spirit they all had for one another, and not just their own sport.

"It was such an amazing experience. I'm looking forward to going to London 2012. I've made my contacts now!"