PEOPLE across Australia will be licking the back of Keilor gold medallist Adam Vella’s head this week.
The 34-year-old has been immortalised on an Australia Post stamp.
The 50-cent stamp also features his shooting partner Michael Diamond.
Mr Vella won the men’s trap pairs gold medal at the Commonwealth Games but missed out on gold in the individual trap last week.
He said competing at the Games had been stressful.
“The thing that I’m going to take away from this is that I was unable to concentrate in the event with a lot of fans and family around,” Mr Vella said.
“I should have been stronger in being able to concentrate and do what I had to do, which was target, but I just let everything around me get into my game plan.”
Despite his loss in the second game, Mr Vella looked forward to posting letters to family and friends with his stamps.
“I don’t know whether I’ll get a big box of stamps and send them out to everyone. My wife would probably like to do that,” he laughed.
When he spoke to Star last week, Mr Vella said he was looking forward to the closing ceremony of the Games.
Living in the village among other athletes brought the spirit of the games alive, he said.
“The gold medal will be something that I will cherish from these games more than anything. I’ll keep it where the other ones are – in a safe place and not in the top drawer,” he said.
Mr Vella’s wife, Fiorealla, said she watched the games with great interest and also some nervousness.
“The last game was a bit pressured. I just wanted him to do well,” Mrs Vella said.
Mr Vella developed an interest in the sport at the age of 13.
He said combining the profession with his personal life was hard, as he often had to leave his family to compete at world events.
“Before I was married and before I had my children, I thought it was easy to go away and not have any problems and play,” he said.
“I’m just thankful that my wife is used to it now, and there are good people around here that support her when I go away.”
Mr Vella’s next big goal is to finish building his dream home in Keilor before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
