Greg Rutherford

People assume that you need to run fast to get to optimum fitness, but the truth is endurance lifting makes you stronger and leaner.

I'm a very keen baker; I pride myself on my cakes. I go along the classic sponge line, but I like to jazz it up: I've made some psychedelic birthday cakes.

It was when my American coach Dan Pfaff came over from the States in 2009 and started working with me that we really began to look at my diet. He decided I was eating too many carbohydrates, so I cut back on bread. Over the next year I lost weight and became leaner.

I think the first time baby recognises me and smiles is going to be one of the most amazing times of my life, to be honest.

My parents were great at making sure I got out of bed when I needed to play football on a Sunday morning and that I was ready after school to go to training on a Tuesday and Thursday. But it was never forced upon me or rammed down my throat. If it had been, I could have ended up hating sport.

Running up a steep hill or up steps are fantastic ways of building explosive strength.

It will be good fun finding out what sport baby's good at; perhaps it will be something obscure. My parents were fantastic at taking me to training sessions and letting me try lots of different sports, so I want to do the same.

I was quite lucky: although my dad worked a lot, whenever he was free, he would play sports with me and my brother, and I can't wait to do that with my child.

People forget that track and field is one of the hardest sports because we compete against all the world. There are many sports when you are up against only 15 or 20 countries.