Considering they had just endured a 24-hour flight from Sydney, the team were looking remarkably fresh and somewhat in awe of the incredible reception waiting for them.
Tim Foster, a member of the historic coxless fours crew laughed: "If being on a plane for 24 hours and arriving at six in the morning can feel like this, I'll do it more often!
"You can't help feel excited and get the buzz when there's so many people screaming and shouting."
The plane journey itself was a little quieter, he explained.
"There was a lot of tired athletes there and we weren't all running around the aisles shouting and partying. There was a lot of sleeping going on."
It is more than a week ago that Foster collected his coxless fours gold medal, along with Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell - but the feeling of euphoria has not dimmed yet.
"I still haven't come down," he grinned. "We've been out and celebrated and made the most of the Olympics to support some of the other sports in the second week.
"We were lucky enough to have the swimming team cheering us on and I was there when Audley (Harrison) won his (gold medal).
Proud
"It's been great to have been part of the whole team effort. It's nice to be a gold medallist - but I feel proud to have been a part of that British Olympic team."
Foster plans to go home and get some rest before planning his next move, but barring any serious injuries, he will be back for Athens 2004.
"It feels so nice, it's definitely worth doing twice," he added.
Redgrave, predictably, refused to be drawn on whether he would be doing it for a sixth time, saying guardedly: "We'll have to see" and "you never know".
The five-times gold medallist lapped up the "fantastic reception" and admitted: "It's really good to be home...it's a great feeling."
Redgrave put a lot of the team's success down to the extra funding they had received and emphasised the need for even more to keep the momentum going.
Fellow rower Kieran West, a member of the victorious men's eight, described the homecoming reception and his personal achievement as "unbelievable".
"I spoke to Matthew Pinsent earlier," he revealed "and he said 'it will change your life forever, you'll never quite realise what you've just done' - and, to be honest, I can't.
"I can conceptualise the fact that we've won a race and beaten a load of fantastic crews from the rest of the world, but to be called an Olympic champion...it's a dream come true and almost impossible to understand."