LAKE FOREST (CBS) – A North Shore swim club is bursting with pride after two of its former members struck gold in London.

“I’m the best in the world, and that’s so cool to say. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of as a little boy,” said 27-year-old Matt Grevers who won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports Grevers began training at the Lake Forest Swim Club when he was just 8 years old.

“I think about all the morning practices, and all the hard work,” Grevers said.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger Reports

Fellow gold medalist, 23-year-old Conor Dwyer of Winnetka, also has been swimming there in recent years.

The club’s co-head coach, Michael Lawrence, said everyone at the club is thrilled.

“It’s rare air, for sure,” Lawrence said. “We knew that both Matt and Conor were going to be successful at a national and an international level. The Olympics is way up there, and you have to put it all together at the right time, and a little bit of luck is important also.”

He said he always knew both swimmers were destined for greatness, and not just because of their natural talent.

“Swimming requires a lot of time, and you’re face down in the water where you can’t talk or hear people. And that drive, you can see that at an early age,” Lawrence said.

He said the success of Grevers and Dwyer is giving a boost to all the young members of the club, who think they, too, might someday might collect Olympic gold.

Lawrence said the TVs and iPads have been going non-stop at the club, as members follow the success of Grevers and Dwyer in London.