The life of an international athlete is hectic and can be very stressful. Just the training itself can be taxing on anyone. For instance; and athlete that is going to the Olympics, trains at least a couple years before, and returning Olympians train from the time they finish the last Olympics to the beginning of the next ones. International athletes put a tremendous amount of stress on themselves to always better their last results and beating everyone else is just a bonus, but I the end that comes second. The impact of the family members, individual members, and the media...
For some reason, people like to hear about the bad stuff, so even the slightest mistake will attract media to it, and just for the sake of public interest.

Some changes that would occur in a gold medal winners life is that they become hero's and icons in their home country and possibly around the world. The media and fans alike, would put them on a pedestal. The medallist would have a lot of pride in themselves; friends and family would also be proud, and would praise them for how far they have come and what they have accomplished.