By Damian Spellman, PA Sport

Jonathan Edwards has admitted that he would have given up his dream of Olympic glory if his wife had asked him to fly home after the death of her mother.

The 34-year-old triple jumper returned triumphant to Britain on Thursday proudly clutching the gold medal he has coveted for so long to be reunited with wife Alison and sons Samuel and Nathan a fortnight after mother-in-law Anne lost her long battle against a brain tumour.

He was prepared to forsake his big day in Sydney to be with his family, but he revealed that both Alison and her father Ralph had helped him to make the decision to stay.

"My main feelings were for Alison," he said after being welcomed home at Gateshead International Stadium.

"Going out there, I had twin focuses. God had given me my ability and it was my responsibility and duty, I felt, to give absolutely everything I had out there.

"And secondly, I wanted to win for Alison and for what she'd been through, and for being willing to let me stay out.

"If she'd have said to me 'come back home', then I would have done so. And I should also mention Ralph, her dad, who was a tower of strength.

"He was on the phone to me immediately after Anne died, saying 'look, you're in the right place, don't worry about anything, everything is fine here. You just go and win the gold medal'.

"It made a huge difference to me because I was really torn.

"It's one thing to make a decision in the cold light of day away from all the emotions, but when it actually happens and I was on the other side of the world and everything was happening back here, it was very tough."

Edwards proudly displayed his medal, which he had earlier taken to his sons' school to show their class-mates, and admitted that he is yet to really take in what he has achieved.

"I keep having a look at it and a hold of it - I can't quite take it in to be honest," he said. "It's just an amazing experience.

"I'm still a bit lost for words. I'm not normally lost for words, but I am with this."

Edwards returned to the north east to be told that he is to be nominated as a Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Gateshead, an accolade which has only been conferred 25 times since 1835.

He will now set about the task of enjoying his success, and then of deciding how to go about what he insists will be a scaled-down future in his sport.

The world record holder will continue to compete at the highest level, and fully intends to battle for gold in next year's World Championships, but he will only pull on his spikes if he feels he can still mix it with the best.

"Athletically, the pressure is off," he said. "It will never be quite as tense or as intense as it has been these last five or six years.

"There's been an expectation, not least from myself, that I was good enough to win an Olympic title, but there was the realistic possibility that it wouldn't happen, especially after I didn't win in Atlanta.

"It's a wonderful feeling. I didn't appreciate how good it would feel.

"I want to enjoy it and not put myself over the barrel of having to perform, having to eat in a certain way, go to bed at a certain time, and athletics will certainly come down the priority order.

"I'll train one day and if I don't quite feel like it, I won't the next. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

"I can say that I'm going to be much more relaxed in my approach, but I might find it difficult to do that - in which case Alison will retire me.

"I don't know quite how it will pan out, but I'm not going to go out and jump 15 metres 20 and not make the final.

"I still hope to perform at a high level and I feel I'm capable of doing that. I might jump really, really well, who knows?"