How a close-knit support group led Christa Deguchi back to judo — and an Olympic title

Two days after winning an Olympic gold medal, Christa Deguchi doesn't feel any different.

After a whirlwind 48 hours doing interviews and posing for pictures with her new golden hardware, Deguchi certainly feels special. But she doesn't feel like anything has changed.

She's already trying to reset her mind to prepare to compete in the judo mixed team entry on Saturday. The competition begins at 5:30 a.m. ET. You can watch Olympic coverage on CBC TV, CBC Gem, the CBC Olympics app and CBC Olympics website. 

"I'm just me and I do have a gold medal, but I don't think I'm the superstar," Deguchi said in an interview with CBC Sports.

But Deguchi, who is ranked No. 1 in the world in her weight class, is a superstar, and one who made history on Monday when she became the first Canadian to earn an Olympic gold medal in judo. It was also Canada's first gold medal of these Games.

Deguchi did it by defeating South Korean Huh Mimi in the under-57 kilogram final. It was Deguchi's fourth bout of the day inside Champ-de-Mars Arena, and a rematch against the judoka who defeated her for world championship gold in May.

WATCH | How Deguchi won judo gold in those final sudden-death moments:

Deguchi didn't realize she won gold until she left the mat and her coach congratulated her. When she pictured that moment, she thought she would cry or celebrate.

But what she felt initially was relief and pain. After the match, everything started to hurt.

And then, she felt pride. As she stood on the podium on Monday and looked at the maple leaf after her win, the 28-year-old felt tears well up in her eyes.

Born and raised in Japan, Deguchi decided to compete for Canada in 2017. Her father, Tom Taylor, is from Winnipeg, and she said her home always