NEW world champion Tamsyn Lewis flew straight into the arms of her family yesterday - and credited them with keeping her career alive.

When Lewis, who surprised everyone by winning the 800m World Indoor Championship title in Spain on Sunday, lost her scholarship from the Victorian Institute of Sport in 2006, money became tight.

But with the constant love and support of her parents Carolyn and Greg, not to mention the masterstroke of appointing older brother Justin as her coach, Lewis has finally emerged as a genuine Olympic medal contender.

"I just knew when I crossed the line on Sunday how excited my family would be, so seeing them there at the airport was pretty special," the 29-year-old said on her return to Melbourne.

"Most of the track and field athletes in this country live in Struggleville and it's really sad.

"There are people giving it all on the track but in the end so many have to give it away because they need to do other things to support themselves.

"Athletics is a tough sport, it can be hard financially.

"I've always been very lucky in that my family have offered to support me.

"Not everyone can be in that position . . . if there aren't people supporting you, in the end you have to give it away."

"This prizemoney has come as a shock to me.

"I'd only looked at the prizemoney for the fifth and sixth places because that's where I thought I'd finish in the final."

The win in Valencia netted her a cool $43,000 - one of the biggest paydays of her career.

That's not to say that paying the bills was the only burden weighing on Lewis' mind as her career, once bursting with potential, began to falter.

It was the criticism about her under-achieving, the calls for her to retire after a forgettable performance at last year's world championships in Osaka and the snide implication that she was more interested in her next photoshoot than her next race.

"It's a pretty cool feeling now, particularly when I remember how hard the last few years have been, and all the ups and downs. These past days are ones I will remember for the rest of my life," she said.

"I haven't thought at all about the people who have criticised me . . . all I have concentrated on is celebrating the win with the people who have loved me and supported me the whole way through.

"If you think about those sort of things, it depresses you, you just have to focus on what you want to do.

"I've had a long career but now I feel that I have the self-confidence and belief to make things happen."

A lot of this new-found belief has come from her brother-coach, who she calls "my inspiration".

"Justin is just such a good coach, every athlete he has in our group, he gets the best out of them," Lewis said.

Despite jetting into Melbourne at 6.30am, Lewis was back training yesterday afternoon.

She now has a rather big event in August to focus on.

"I have always said that I am capable of making an Olympic final but now it is really instilled in me that I can do it," Lewis said. "I beat a number of girls in the race on Sunday who have competed in the Olympic final.

"Now I have that belief that I can achieve it too."