Quotes from Jessica Ennis-Hill

I think that's one of the first things you'd say if you met me: that I am just nice and smiley. And that's how I might appear when I'm not competing. But I'm totally different when it comes to sport. It's just something that seems to be within me. It's not external or visual. But it's within me.

To be confident going out and performing, I need to be with my son for as long as possible; then I know I'm happy, and he's happy, and I can go out and put all my energy into performing.

I'm so impatient. I can't even stand waiting for a cab, and I'm always early for everything. In training, it means I want to run my personal best every session - but it takes time.

From 15 or 16, I always wanted to be an Olympic champion, but I don't think you ever believe it until it actually happens.

People who aren't perhaps that into sport are going to be following me and wanting to be part of the Olympics. That definitely does bring added pressure but as an athlete the Olympics are the ultimate competition.

I love being part of campaigns and events that are working with kids and just sharing my personal experiences.

I love championships. That's when I want to be at my best. I love those environments. It brings the best out of me.

I get my competitive edge from my mum. When we're together, we're competitive about little things - it'll be, 'I can bake cakes better than you can.' But she's never been a pushy parent; she's always just supported me.

I want to experience that massive adrenalin rush when you step into a new stadium, all the more so when that Olympic Stadium is packed full of people waving British flags.

I started training again four months after giving birth, and it was strange not to be fully in control - I'm so used to my body performing at a certain level, but it wasn't. I was like, 'Oh, man, can we go back to where we were, please?'

I don't know how long my body will allow me to compete, but I can't imagine doing anything else. That day will come, and I just hope there'll be a light shining down a path telling me where to go.

It's really important for me to look good before a race. I definitely think if I feel I look good, it makes me feel more confident.

We always spend more time on the throwing events and a little bit more on the long jump. They're my weaker events - they don't come as naturally to me as running and jumping. I like the hurdles and the high-jump, I'm a springy, speedy athlete so those suit me.

There was a massive poster of me down my road, right outside the chip shop. I was about to go in, but then I saw it and changed my mind. Me coming out with a bag of chips, while I'm up there doing crunches on the poster... well, it would not look good.

I sit down with my coach to watch past performances. But I can be very critical. I don't watch myself very often - it makes me cringe!

I started training with school friends and, one by one, they all dropped out. When we became teenagers, it seemed more exciting to go shopping at weekends. My mum told me not to worry about what my friends were doing and to stick at it.

I've always said that you're obviously doing something right if you have got pressure on you.

I think there's going to be pressure on all the British athletes. It's a home Olympics at the end of the day. I like adrenaline, that's something I feed off. I'm just going to go out there and do my best.

As soon as I had a child, he became the priority. Now, I fit my training around him. I've changed as an athlete.

There is a need to be the best you can be. You can't panic; you concentrate. When I run up to the hurdles, I'm very nervous, but I'll tend to think about technical things to keep my mind focused.

I'm proud of the way I've dealt with setbacks. It's hard when you feel down and you think, 'Why is the world doing this to me?' But you have to pick yourself up again. That's what makes you a better athlete.

Some athletes feel they have to show they're confident and talk about what they're going to achieve. I don't think there's anything wrong with just quietly believing in yourself and just getting on with it. You don't have to talk about it all the time; you want your performances to show for it.

It's quite funny in that I once won Rear of the Year at my school! I was about 17 in the sixth form and we used to have an end of year celebration and give out different awards. I even got a little trophy!

I carry a golf ball to put under my feet when they get tight, and a Thera-Band for general stretching.