EVEN when winning gold for her country and rejoicing with the Union flag, Kat Copeland spared a thought for the North-East and her native Teesside .

When rowing in the double sculls final she had her nails done in the colours and style of her own Tees Rowing Club, one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world.

It’s a pride in her area which her parents, vets Derek and Penny, have long known about. “Every interview she mentions Tees Rowing Club and Teesside, never fails,” said her father.

But they were even more were delighted to discover the people of Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, and the whole area’s pride in their daughter knew no bounds when they returned to work yesterday morning.

The couple, who own Copeland Veterinary Surgey, in Ingleby Barwick, but now live in Stokesley , North Yorkshire, say they were looking forward to meeting staff and close friends at work.

“But we didn’t think we’d have all the television and radio and newspapers at the door,” says Penny, in between writing up a report on a poorly dog.

“And then all the wellwishers, everyone who’s been in to congratulate us.

It’s been amazing. The thing is, you get emotional all over again each time you talk about what Kat’s achieved. It starts you off all over again.”

Derek agrees, saying: “I think I can say, I’m emotionally drained.

“But it means a lot to Kat.

She’s always proud of the area. She’s had interviewers and newspaper reports saying, ‘she’s from the Leeds area’ or ‘a Geordie’. She always gets a little bit put out. At the same time she’s proud to get the message out that you can row in the north.”

Kat and the other rowers were in a hotel but have been allowed to move to the Olympic Village where they’re having a good time.

“She says, ‘mum, can you imagine, I might have breakfast with Usain Bolt’,” says Penny.

“I think it’s fair to say she might not come back at this 57kg weight she has to maintain, but the big thing for her is get out and shop.”

Derek tells an anecdote about feeling a fool for having to pick Kate up from school in a surgical mask so as not to pass on a cold, a testement to his daughter’s dedication.

He thinks his daughter may accept a place to study biology at Newcastle University this year, but is really just enjoying his daughter’s achievement “She’s bursting with joy”, he says and is amazed in the area’s pride in his daughter.

However, with a wry smile, he reveals Kat must return home soon.

“She has to take a speed awareness course for her driving,” he says. “That should bring her back down to earth.”