A biography for Denise Lewishasn’t been written yet.
“Retiring can be hard but it's nice to be in a position where I can run and feel liberated doing it.”
“I have this one room - it has a TV, a sofa, some candles. I close the door, sit down and lose myself.”
“It sounds precocious, but I knew that I had to listen to my own inner voice and ignore what everyone else was saying, even my mum.”
“The magazines drive me insane, because it's such an unrealistic ideology, that you're going to have a baby, or even just be out of shape for a little while, and then ping back into shape.”
“My mum taught me to work hard. I was born when she was only 17 and she brought me up on her own.”
“I was determined to be fit during my pregnancy because I didn't know what I was going to get in terms of labour, so I wanted to be prepared for that.”
“I don't like to eat a big lunch, so even if I'm working I still tend to stick to sandwiches or salad.”
“Let's face it, you get home from work and what's the first thing that comes off? It's your bra, isn't it? You don't even take the clothes off. You actually sort of pull it out one of the sleeves and then fling it off. You're free.”
“I love seeing the up-and-coming athletes finding success.”
“I really wasn't well - feeling feverish then cold - so I went to the doctor to find out if I had flu and they did a blood test. I thought: 'Okay, this is it. I'm pre-menopausal.' Then Steve said: 'Are you sure you're not pregnant?'”
“I naturally eat well. I'm conscientious about what I'm eating.”
“Sport's been an instrumental thing in my life.”
“I have moved on now from athletics, but it was difficult initially after I retired.”
“My personal trainer, she's been reading the textbooks, she doesn't want me to do too much, she says: 'Don't overheat, don't over-stretch, blah blah blah.'”
“As an only child you don't have many people to play with, and mum was strict about not mixing with kids on the street, so I played by myself.”
“Success breeds success and the more you are around a healthy and thriving athletics team, the more the people who only think they can make semi-finals will be inspired to want to aim for finals and go for medals.”
“I do love 'Gogglebox' and I have done from the get-go.”
“I'm always striving to be the best, and that works for me, but it might not be everyone's desire.”
“As a girl, I was a member of Birchfield Harriers, who had Kathy Cook, Tessa Sanderson and Sonia Lannaman in their team. Those were some of the finest athletes in the country, so it was great to see them up close.”
“You have to find space in your own mind to completely focus on the job at hand. That's the only way to deal with pressure. You have to be confident and welcome it.”