Back on the Southampton estate they call home, Olympic silver medallist Pete Waterfield and his girlfriend Tania Graves are getting used to being famous. Kate Thompson finds out more...

HAVING a quiet drink together is proving a little difficult these days for Olympic silver medallist Pete Waterfield and his girlfriend Tania Graves.

Every time they go out together they are approached by well-wishers and autograph hunters - outside the tower block where they live with their three-year-old son Lewis there is even a banner marking his success.

There have been journalists on the phone asking for interviews and Pete will soon appear on the BBC sports quiz They Think Its All Over.

"The reaction has been overwhelming. We went for a fry-up the other day and people were coming up and asking for autographs.

"And everyone in Millbrook Towers has been great," said Tania.

The medal success he shared with diving partner Leon Taylor is the culmination of years of hard training and determination.

Tania, 22, understands the pressures on her boyfriend of four and a half years and also has an insight into the world of diving.

"We met at The Quays. I did a bit of diving but I never went in for any major competitions.

"I was diving for a while but then I fell pregnant with Lewis and had to stop. We travel quite a bit watching Pete compete," she said.

Sadly Tania was unable to be in Greece to see Pete and Leon competing - although she did fly out to see him taking part in the individual contest.

She was anxious because she knew her boyfriend had injured his ankle and she didn't want that to affect his performance.

"I really wanted to go but financially it was impossible. Instead I stayed here and watched it on TV with friends and family.

"It was difficult to watch at first because I didn't think he was being judged fairly.

"As the competition went on I started to get into the atmosphere and I heard the crowd go mad before I saw the position they had got.

"As soon as I realised he had got the silver medal, I felt great," she said.

Away from the glamour and hype of the Olympics, life for an athlete like Pete, 23, can be quite tough.

He trains long and hard to maintain the fitness that has taken him to the top of his sport but admits that financially it has been a bit of a strain.

"We are living in Millbrook Towers because we can't afford to get a mortgage.

"I get money from the National Lottery and it is enough to live on and there's nothing left to save.

"If we want to buy a house, we would need to have a deposit of about £10,000 so it's just impossible," said Pete.

He is keen to attract sponsorship for he and Leon to make life a little easier but as yet they are still waiting for the dream deal.

"A sponsorship deal would really help us. We've got an agent working on it for us but as yet there's nothing in place.

"It's crazy because we are at the top of our sport and we get nothing, while others who are 35th in the world at their sport get millions.

"We do hope the success at the Olympics will attract backers," he said.

Pete is taking a well deserved rest at the moment but soon he will be back competing and setting his sights on the Beijing Olympics in China in 2008.

"Originally I was a swimmer and I can remember watching the divers at the other end of the pool and thinking their sport looked a lot more exciting than swimming up and down.

"I train for six hours, five to six days a week. Not much of that time is spent in the pool, mostly I am in the gym doing sit-ups and press-ups. I also use a trampoline for stretching and flexibility.

"It's a lot of work just for a second and a half spent in the air, " he said.

With such an exhausting schedule, Pete is grateful to have Tania by his side.

"She really does look after me. I come home exhausted from training and she is there for me - it's great," he said.