Interview: Olympic glory keeps 'sleep expert' Adam Burgess wide awake

Yet on Monday night, just hours after winning silver at Paris 2024, the 32-year-old lay on his bed, medal round his neck, knowing he was fighting a losing battle in his bid for rest.

“I did try, I was there for four hours. I used all the tools in my locker,” explained Burgess, a yoga fanatic who since 2017 has used breathwork to aid his performance, founding his own business with the Inspired Breath Academy.

“I’m a sleep expert,” he continued. “Day to day, under normal circumstances, I back myself to recover better than the competition.

“But to come down from a moment like that, especially with all the adrenaline, caffeine and sugar roaring through my system, I knew it probably wasn’t going to happen.”

Sleep or no sleep, yesterday morning Burgess was still in dreamland as he continued a round of media interviews which began almost immediately after he climbed off the podium at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

“It has been bonkers, an absolute whirlwind. I am still coming back to earth,” he said.

“Has it sunk in yet? It is getting there. The interviews and how busy it has been has been quite good for me to process it.

“It has been quite an emotional morning, talking about it a lot and reminiscing about the early days getting into the sport in Stone with family and friends, the canoe club. It is super special.”

Burgess has been hooked on canoeing since the age of 10 when he got his first taste of it on the River Trent with Stafford and Stone canoe club, meaning his triumph on Monday was one more than two decades in the making.

But as he revealed yesterday, he almost missed the boat altogether. Eager to give the sport a go after members from Stafford and Stone visited his class at Walton Priory middle school, Burgess left the permission slip required to take part crumpled and unsigned in the bottom of his bag.

“They took a group of eight kids initially and I was lucky that a few weeks in, someone dropped out,” he explained. “I can still vividly remember now being in class when the teacher Miss Williamson told us and raising my hand and saying, ‘yes, I will give that a go’.

“Moments like that, you don’t know when you are in that moment. I would encourage everyone to be brave and try things because you never know where it might take you.”

For Burgess the journey has taken him to the Olympic podium via the heartbreak of Tokyo three years ago, when he missed out on a medal by just 0.16 seconds.

Crossing the line on Monday and setting the fastest time at that point, with just three more paddlers to go, he wore a look of disbelief and ecstasy before catching himself and crossing the fingers on both hands.

“When you go into first place in a canoe slalom race with just a few boats to go, you feel you have a pretty good shot at a medal given the nature of our sport,” said Burgess. “But you just never know. Three amazing boats followed, friends, guys I know really well.

“You just have to watch and hope for a fair race but you can’t wish badly on anyone, you just have to see what happens.

“Fortunately, it was my day. There have been so many times when it has not been mine. I am so happy finally yesterday was.”

Burgess had no shortage of support from the stands, mom Carol, dad Dean, stepmom Janine and girlfriend Emily all roaring their support, together with a healthy contingent from Stafford and Stone.

“They really helped me to dig deep when I needed it,” said Burgess, who recovered from a mistake midway down the course.

“I fought really hard,” he continued. “I had to refocus so quickly and not rush the finish, make sure I got it right.

“I did cut the line a little bit on the last upstream to try and shave off a couple of tenths which did prove critical.”

The Stafford and Stone club has a proud history of producing Olympians. Burgess is the 10th but only the second to bring home a medal after fellow former Walton Priory student Joe Clarke, who won gold at Rio 2016 and began his bid to become a double Olympic champion in the K1 class yesterday.

Tomorrow, Burgess will be there to support Clarke as he looks to make it a club and GB double. He is then back in action himself at the weekend in the kayak cross.

At some point, sleep will come. Burgess, medal hanging round his neck and face still beaming, is enjoying the moment too much to mind when.

“A friend of mine text me when I was getting into bed and said: ‘I hope you are sleeping in that thing (the medal)’. It is a bit cliche, I guess, but I don’t care.”