A misty-eyed Hazel Ouwehand has described the blood sweat and tears it has taken to get to the Commonwealth Games podium.

Featuring in her first Commonwealth Games final, Ouwehand delivered a superb bronze medal-winning swim in a frantic women’s 50 metre butterfly final, touching the wall in 25.76 seconds behind Australia’s Alex Perkins and South Africa’s Erin Gallagher.

It was clear immediately after the race that the achievement hadn’t quite sunk in.

“It feels like an empty ball bouncing around in [my head] at the moment, but give it a few minutes and it will sink in,” she said when asked what was going through her mind after the race.

Later when she was standing on the podium, the achievement began to dawn on her,

An emotional Ouwehand said the feeling was “indescribable”.

“It’s 20 years of work that has gone into this medal.

“It was nice to hug my team-mates and share that with them. My uncle’s in the crowd, my dad’s in the crowd, and my mum and my sister’s down the end. There were some long embraces down there and lots of tears.”

As a non-funded athlete, Ouwehand has juggled elite sport with part-time work as an accountant.

Covering the costs to get to Glasgow has required some hustle

A Givealittle page brought in about $7,000 to help Ouwehand get to the Commonwealth Games, the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and two training camps.

She was one of two recipients of last year’s Yvette Williams Scholarships, receiving $30,000 towards her Commonwealth Games pursuit.

The journey to get to Glasgow has taken a lot of work and money.

“Yeah, lots and lots. It’s been 20 years of hard work, working through school, university, and now working as an accountant, 25 hours a week, so I can fund my journey, because I’m not funded.”

Support from family and the accounting firm she works for had also been crucial.

Now with a Commonwealth Games bronze medal around her neck, Ouwehand said the uphill struggle had been worth it.

“Obviously it’s not the colour that I wanted, but maybe that means I just can’t retire for another four years at least.

Less than 24 hours after winning her first games medal, Ouwehand would line up in the 100 metre butterfly qualifiers on Sunday night.