Greg Rutherford

My grandfather died before I was born, so I never had the chance to speak with him about his father. But I learned about him from books.

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.

I do weights three or four times a week, and it has had an incredible impact on my confidence.

Although I write to entertain, and try to keep my work free of didacticism, I do have a rather passionate belief in our need to be connected to - and to learn from - history.

I've always been very determined, ever since I was a little girl, to make my way.

When I got sober, I thought giving up was saying goodbye to all the fun and all the sparkle, and it turned out to be just the opposite. That's when the sparkle started for me.