On Aug. 9, Kelowna's Jerome Blake became an Olympic gold medallist.

Blake, along with his teammates Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse finished first on the 4x100m relay race with a team time of 37.50 seconds, beating South Africa by .07 seconds and Great Britain by .11 seconds.

This was Canada's first gold medal in the event since 1996. It was also their second straight time medalling after winning silver at Tokyo 2020.

"It's tremendous, I'm over the moon, I can't explain it. It's one of those things that just unforgettable," Blake told Black Press Media a few days after winning gold. "I've always dreamt of doing like this at this magnitude and doing it, it feels really good."

"Every kid grows up dreaming of winning a gold medal, especially in a sport where the pinnacle is Olympic gold," he added. "For me, it's something that's unforgettable, that's for sure."

Over a month later, Blake returned home and made the most of it as he talked to the students at his alma mater, Rutland Senior Secondary and was honoured at both an Okanagan Sun game and by the city council.

"The most important thing for me is giving back to the community in whatever I can, so for me to come back and inspire the next generation of athletes, that's in Kelowna and in the Okanagan, it's a big thing for me," said Blake on Sept. 24. "Being able to be here, be back at my old high school and just see the smiles on everyone's faces, regardless if it's a big one or a small one, I think it's a good thing because I'm giving back to the community that gave so much to me, it's important for me."

After speaking with the kids, Blake and the students went out to the field where they all ran a sprint together and got a chance to get photos with the Olympian. 

During Blake's time at RSS, he made sacrifices for his training, which included missing his graduation photos. During his return, the school gave him a graduation cap and robe so he could take them. 

"It's even more special now the fact that I made all those sacrifices back in the day, just to see the outcome what it is now, 10 years later, two Olympic medals, two Canadian records, and you know so much more to go," said Blake.

The school also gave Blake current RSS clothing and his old football jersey from his time on the team.

"This is so inspirational and motivational for me, just being back at RSS, being in Rutland where everything started for me," said Blake. "It's my old high school, I love this place. I go all over the world talking about Rutland, big up Rutland of course because that's where I'm from, and I never forget where I'm from."