“An example of my average week would be the gym on Monday; Tuesday will be a technical session. I practice running and high jump on Thursday and then have another technical session at the weekend.”

“As a Liverpool fan, I'm an eternal optimist because of what we did in Istanbul in 2005.”

“As an athlete, you have to become quite selfish with your time and your body and your training.”

“As soon as I could talk, I chose shorts to wear.”

“Before training, I eat slow-release energy food, such as porridge or muesli, especially in the morning. Afterwards, I eat protein so my muscles are able to recover, such as a protein bar followed by a meal of chicken and vegetables. I always stay hydrated during workouts by drinking plenty of water throughout.”

“Beijing was a huge slap in the face, and it forced me to look at myself. I have to realise that this is my life.”

“Competing in London would be a dream come true.”

“Everything happens for a reason - I'm a believer of that for sure.”

“For a long time, I thought it was all down to dedication, hard work, and visualising doing well - that worked for a bit, but then it stopped. I've realised you have to be more practical and mature to make things actually happen.”

“Getting rid of all the world records would be a bit of a radical move.”

“I always have a book that I write during competition. I need it with me, just to read back and reflect and look forward. If I'm feeling anxious, it helps me.”

“I always said I wanted an Olympic medal. It's the pinnacle of any athlete's career.”

“I am going to Rio with a chance of a medal.”

“I can always go back to education.”

“I can handle coming fifth as long as I know I've given my all out there and have no regrets.”

“I can't be disappointed with my first gold in a senior championship, and to score 5000 points, which only one other woman, the world record holder, has got over, I am satisfied.”

“I can't change my personality. I'll always smile, but I'll be more focused.”

“I don't want to be someone else.”

“I feel like, when I'm 100% healthy, I can do anything.”

“I got very addicted to performing. I just want to do that more.”

“I have seven disciplines to train for, and so I try to complete them all every week.”

“I just need to concentrate on each event and accumulate a good score, and hopefully I won't flop in the 800 m. in Gotzis.”

“I like to balance competing with studying. It's hard work at the moment, but it could be worse.”

“I live with my mum and my nan. I think I will leave eventually, but not at the moment when they look after me so well. If you came to my house, they'd make you eat something.”

“I played a lot of football, and I was a goalkeeper, but I didn't really like playing in goal.”

“I should have a better CV, and that's knocked me into believing that I have to grab these opportunities while I can.”

“I think 2020 can still be my time.”

“I think everyone in the heptathlon is improving together, so it is a very hard event to compete in.”

“I think I rely on my talent more than my brain sometimes.”

“I used to keep injuries to myself. It would just make it worse and worse. Now I'm having none of that.”

“I used to play football with a load of lads, and I would be like a secret agent going out with a hat on so they wouldn't see my hair in a bun.”

“I want people to tell me the truth.”

“I want to win medals for myself.”

“I was watching 'Deal or No Deal' on YouTube recently, and I bawled when the contestant won ??250,000. I think I just like watching people achieve their dreams.”

“If I can put it together, I've got an opportunity to win.”

“If something is mine, then I want to keep it.”

“If you saw pictures of me as a kid, you'd laugh because I was always in football kit.”

“I'm going to trust my instincts when something's wrong.”

“I'm in awe of any Olympic champion, for sure.”

“I'm training once a day, four days a week, and just loving life.”

“I'm very wholehearted. I want to concentrate on one thing in my life at one time.”

“In 2012, I was over the moon to be there, especially as it was our home Olympics. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I just wanted to take everything in.”

“In boxing, it's one fight, so it's easier to build up rivalries, but everyone's got huge respect for each other.”

“In the heptathlon, you can be any shape. Some of the girls are more built than others, and their strong events are the shot put and javelin.”

“In the lead-up to competitions, I just watch box sets and DVDs and play 'Candy Crush.'”

“It's a huge step up from the European Indoors to then being a gold medallist at the World Championships.”

“It's an individual sport; you want to do well for yourself.”

“It's getting harder as I get more known. Even though it's my break, I couldn't really go out and get drunk - because people expect you to be training and getting up early. But I'm not bothered about missing out on normal teenage things.”

“It's impossible in heptathlon to have a proper rivalry - you're spending two days together and seven events and dedicate your life to it. It's like a marathon: two days of mental and physical exhaustion.”

“It's inspiring for me to know that you've got to step up your game.”

“It's very easy to run a good 200 m. after an appalling shot put.”

“It's what happens in other major championships - I just lose my head a little bit.”

“I've always believed in myself, and it's such a long competition over two days, you can't worry about what anyone else is doing.”

“I've always followed this page on Instagram called the Sausage Dog Hotel.”

“I've always known that Rio and Tokyo are my two Olympics. Now that Rio hasn't gone to plan, Tokyo has to work, and I'm more motivated than ever.”

“I've always looked at 2016, but 2020 is realistic for me. I'll be 23 in 2016, but if I keep on progressing, hopefully 2016 will be a medal chance as well for me.”

“I've been training quite hard.”

“I've got so many big gains to make in the javelin and the shot put. I know I'm not going to be winning the field in those events, but I need to do myself justice.”

“Maybe I'm the kind of athlete who absorbs the atmosphere instead of trying to block it out.”

“Mum is the girliest of them all, but she ended up with me, the tomboy.”

“My goal is definitely a gold medal still in Rio.”

“My granddad used to mind me at weekends, and if the game was on, and you wanted to get across the room, you had to crawl under the TV. So I've always been a Liverpool fan, and meeting Steven Gerrard was massive for me. He knew who I was before we'd even said hello!”

“No one put pressure on me to go to the Olympics; once I'd got the qualifying mark, I just couldn't say no.”

“Obviously, when you're up against somebody you don't like there's extra motivation, but I don't think any person going for an Olympic gold is going to put friendship first.”

“Record-breaking is not getting boring. I am definitely happy with that.”

“Thankfully, I found athletics. My mum didn't like it at first, but the funny thing is that, now, she's the biggest athletics fan out there. She's a real expert, and she's got all the heptathlon books.”

“That people believe I can be Olympic champ, it just spurs me on.”

“There will be mental worries with the long jump before Rio, but I know I can get through it. It's just getting my confidence back. I know I have a big jump in me.”

“Very few athletes get to experience a home Games, and I don't want to pass up the chance.”

“We are all trying to achieve our dreams.”

“When I was a kid, I always had my hair in two plaits. But for dancing, I had to have it in a bun because I did ballet.”

“When it comes to peaking at the right time, I have to thank my coach Mike Holmes: he is a genius.”

“When there was a fight in school, because I was the tall one, the teachers would say, 'I know you were there. I could see you.'”

“When you see all the medals won by Team GB, you can just see how much it means to each and every athlete, so it just feel like it's a little bit of a missed opportunity - but I'm only 23. I have just got to get on now and keep going.”

“You can be in the shape of your life, and then injury strikes. So you have to grab your opportunities.”

“You can exercise anytime, anywhere. It doesn't have to be the gym.”

“You can only train three or four hours a day, so what do you do with the other 20 hours?”

“You don't not want to beat somebody because you're friends with them.”