British Olympic legend Denise Lewis has admitted she struggled to find direction in life when her athletics career came to an end, as she sat down with Female First for an exclusive interview at Stoke Park.
Denise Lewis poses with Kevin Palmer
After achieving sporting immortality by winning a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney in the heptathlon, 46-year-old Denise has told us that she faced a battle to find fresh challenges in her life after her incredible sporting career drew to a close 14 years ago.
Recounting a story that so many sporting stars encounters when their days competing come to an end, Lewis admits she struggled to find an avenue for her competitive juices after she walked away from athletics.
"I have moved on now from athletics, but it was difficult initially after I retired," began Lewis, who spoke to Female First at an event to open the new padel courts at Stoke Park Country Park near Windsor.
"You have the burning desire as a successful sportsperson and that needs to go somewhere when you finish. It is a problem so many people have when their careers end and I was no different.
"It's not just the competing that taken away from you. It is the hours invested in the training side of the sport, the journey you take to get to the Olympics or the world championships in my sport, that is also missing in your life.
"That ultimate target is no longer on your horizon. Whe you are in a sport, there is a plan to reach for perfection in a certain week in August and it gives you a focus in life and in everything you do around it. It's a strategic plan that is mapped out over several months and that plan is something I found hard to replace in my life. This has been your routine for so long and finding something that makes you tick is tough.
"I obviously had my family to keep me amused and I took up golf when I retired from athletics. It was a really good excuse to try something new but the trouble was, I took golf too seriously and ended up getting incredibly frustrated with it.
"I also had a go at tennis, but it never replaces what you had done all your life and I empathise will all sports people when they retire because it is difficult to find a new path in your life."
The charming Lewis, who looks in incredible shape just a few weeks after giving birth to her fourth child with husband Steve O'Connor, admits athletics is failing to maintain it's influence on the landscape after losing its sport on television schedules in recent years.
"Athletics is struggling to get coverage and attention and there are so many reasons for that," she conceded. "Team sports seem to be ruling at the moment. The World Cup last summer was a massive event for the county and everyone loves these big tournaments that have a build up to them and everyone gets behind it. People like that tribalism, supporting one side against another and you don't get that in individual sports.
"It's not an issue of role models in athletics because we have had so many heroes coming from Britain in recent years and yet the coverage you might expect on the back of that has not been there.
"Athletics is competing against football, rugby, Formula 1, cricket, golf and so many other sports and at this moment, athletics is some way down the list.
"We see lots of people running, lots of people going gyms, but no so many choosing athletics as their sport of choice and that is a problem we need to try and address.
"Back in the day when we only had a couple of channels on TV and a lot of the other sports that now get a lot of attention were still amateur events, athletics had more of a platform, but it is in a very competitive field now and it is struggling to get some space.
"We have also lost Usain Bolt from athletics and he was just amazing to drive interest. People came in their droves to watch him. Whatever other event is on in the Olympics, everything stops when he comes onto the screen or sets foot onto the track. He was probably the biggest hero ever in our sport. All kids wanted to be like Usain Bolt and his exit leave a big hole in our sport."
Lewis chatted to Female First as she sampled padel, a sport that is a cross between tennis and squad that is is now being brought to England as part of a collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association.
"This was my first experience playing padel and it is just fantastic fun," added the mother of five. "My children played in Tenerife and loved it and now that I have had a go, I can confirm I share their view.
"I love a game of tennis and we have been members at Stoke Park for a few years now, so having padel courts added to the fantastic facilities they already had here is wonderful. I would encourage anyone who has not tried it to have a go at padel.
"Tennis is a real passion for me and I love it when the invite comes through from Wimbledon in the post to sit in the Royal Box. I never take that purple invite for granted and a day at Wimbledon is always magical. To get a chance to see some of the greatest players to have ever played the sport up-close and personal is an experience everyone should take if it comes their way."
Denise Lewis spoke to Female First at Stoke Park. Click here more information - https://www.stokepark.com/tennis/index.html
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