I SUPPORT YOU SARAH STEVENSON!YOU MAKE ME PROUD TO BE BRITISH.
BEST WISHES AND FIGHT WELL.
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Mum and dad were fighters
...I’ll win 2012 gold for them
Olympic medal hope inspired by family tragedy

Sarah Stevenson
FOR taekwondo champion Sarah Stevenson, punches and spinning kicks are part of the day job.

But this year she has had to be a real fighter.

In July her dad, Roy, died from a brain tumour. Then, just last month, her mum Diana passed away after battling cancer. Both were 63.

Sarah, 28, said: "They were both so brave in how they handled their illnesses. Especially my mum. I'm so proud of her. She suffered so much.

"That's what hurt me the most — that she suffered and I couldn't help her. If I'm getting nervous or I'm worried about my competitions, I have to remember it's not life or death. You have to experience something like that to put everything in perspective.

"I would give anything to have them back. I would turn around and say I'm not going to the Olympics if I could have Mum and Dad here. But, hopefully, the bravery they showed will rub off on me and inspire me to get gold in 2012."

Sarah won gold at the world championships in South Korea in May. Her parents insisted she should go.

Attack ... Sarah, in red, battles opposition
Sarah said: "When I won at the worlds I felt like I could breathe again, just for a day. I am bound to get upset now and again but I don't think I'll grieve properly until after the Olympics. Whether I win or not, I'm probably going to be a bit of a mess once it's over.

"At the moment London is always in the back of my mind and I've got to keep going for that. Mum and Dad both told me I had to go to London.

"Dad thought he would be there. He thought he had 12 to 18 months left and he was determined to keep fighting. In the end, though, it was very quick. They inspired me so much. Every time I felt tired during training I would think, 'This is nothing compared with what they are going through, especially my mum'. "

Her mum's funeral was on Monday — but, incredibly, Sarah, from Doncaster, pictured left with her mum and dad and a coach in 2008, has pushed on with training.

Gold ... in world championships
She has planned a Christmas holiday to Lanzarote with husband Steve Jennings, one of her GB coaches. Then all focus is on the Olympics.

Sarah, who will competes in the under-67kg category, became the first ever Brit to get a world championship medal in taekwondo.

She was just 18 and still had a full-time office job. Now a full-time athlete, she has two world golds, plus a silver, putting her on track to take Olympic gold at London 2012.

Success comes at a price, though. At Beijing in 2008 she twisted her ankle but managed to get the bronze medal.

Sarah, who has been doing taekwondo for 21 years, said: "I've broken my hands a couple of times and a finger. I've got a plate in my hand.

"I've had reconstruction on my knee and major surgery on my ankle, which has now got wires in there."

She knows how much of a difference funding can make and fully supports our Text For Tickets competition, which pumps money back into sport.

She said: "It's great. It means more opportunities for kids and better results for Britain. Get texting in!"

As to the future, Sarah added: "You never know, I might go to Rio in 2016. They might have to wheel me there in my wheelchair, I'll be so old then!"

The Brownlee brothers
THE Brownlee family home is buzzing more than most about the 2012 Olympics.

Brothers Alistair and Jonathan are set to scoop gold and silver medals in the triathlon.

The lads have become an unstoppable force in one of the most gruelling sports in the world.

Unstoppable force ... Alistair, left, and Jonathan Brownlee
Alistair took gold in the triathlon world championships in September and, snapping at his heels, his younger brother won silver.

Yet the students still live around the corner from their childhood home in Leeds and shun protein shakes in favour of wholesome, home-cooked grub from their mum.

You would be forgiven for assuming that their parents must be total sports nuts who had them pounding out the miles as soon as they could walk.

But Cathryne and Keith Brownlee, both doctors, never once pushed their boys into athletics.

Alistair, 23, said: "I suppose it is unusual to have two brothers in our position but it's normal to us. There isn't much rivalry, although I suppose that the instinct to win is in us both." Jonathan, 21, added: "Growing up, we've always had each other to train with and we spur each other on."

Gruelling ... bike section of eventDespite being the two best triathletes in the world, the Brownlee brothers could not be more grounded and modest.

Cathryne has to lay on up to 8,000 calories a day EACH for her sons. The recommended daily intake for non-athletes is 2,500 calories.

Alistair, who got into swimming aged eight, said: "We try to eat healthily — but a lot of it. Roast dinners, pasta, that sort of thing. We don't really count the calories."

It's not surprising they get through so much grub. The triathlon involves a 1,500-metre swim, a 40km cycle and a 10km run.

At the height of their training they swim for an hour and a half, then go for a ten-mile run. After that it's a four-hour bike ride then another half-hour run.

So what of their prospects next summer? Alistair said: "We see it as another race which we need to do our best in. We have to focus on other races and avoid injury or burning out. We will go out to win it, as always."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3923057/Mum-and-dad-were-f...
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