The Big Interview: Denise Lewis positive her sport still has heroes

Lewis is not oblivious to the various, high-profile problems facing these Games, far from it. Yet with the opening ceremony now less than a week away, she is determined to shed light on the many positives which still remain.

"You can quite easily get lost in all of this, the negativity," she acknowledges at one point.

Events continue to move quickly though, almost too quickly in many respects for this interview, which took place before the International Olympic Committee opted against a blanket ban on Russian athletes.

Whether the stories are about doping, just how ready Rio is to stage these Games, or the Zika virus, it is difficult to recall an Olympics beginning under so many clouds.

Lewis' belief – it is too strong to call it mere hope – is that sport itself will transcend the troubles.

Track and field alone, she is quick to point out, still has many heroes. Rio, she is convinced, will create a few more.

"We have seen so many times what it can do to a sport when you have new heroes to watch and look out for," she says.

"After all that has gone on, the focus can be on performance and that is what I'm looking forward to most.

"There are still a lot of positive stories. Usain Bolt is in his last Olympics, Mo Farah is defending both his titles.

"We have young athletes coming through, the likes of Dina Asher-Smith competing for the first time on this stage.

"There are some people who can really shine in these Games. My focus will be on that."

Lewis is far too grounded and humble to describe herself as a hero yet, 16 years on from winning heptathlon gold in Sydney, she remains acutely aware of how her achievement still resonates.

The girl from Wolverhampton who was first inspired to be an athlete while watching Tessa Sanderson and Sebastian Coe on TV has long been an inspiration for others, her influence enduring further thanks to her work as a TV pundit, which has also made her one of UK athletics most prominent voices.

The grassroots buzz

Lewis might have come a long way from when she would make the round-trip, each day, by bus and train, from Regis School in Tettenhall to Birmingham's Alexander Stadium to train. Yet she retains a fascination with the sport at a grassroots level, regularly visiting schools to tell her story.

Her message is that, in a society where fame is now craved for fame's sake, sport can get you where you want to be, so long as you are prepared to work hard.

"Some people have seen me on TV and are excited about that," she says.

"But this is not all glamorous.

"A lot of kids think it is about how much money you make and driving big, fancy cars. They have to know it is work all the way, years of dedication and trying to compete."

We are back, then, to Rio, as she adds: "To see young athletes come through now is a real buzz.

"It is not glamorous, they are not all surrounded by expensive physios and masseurs.

"The Olympics can be the lightbulb moment for the next youngster, just as I was inspired by the likes of Seb and Tessa, you start believing it could be you."

Giving back

For Lewis, it has been important to give something back to a sport which has given her so much. Time constraints means she has not gone into coaching, though she admits to thinking about doing so "every single day".

In the meantime, she seeks to work as a mentor to younger athletes, last December replacing Dame Kelly Holmes as president of Commonwealth Games England.

As part of the role, Lewis will provide "leadership and guidance" to athletes preparing for the 2018 Games, which take place on Australia's Gold Coast.

Having won Commonwealth gold in both 1994 and 1998, she is aware of how important a stepping stone the championships can be for the career of British athletes.

"If you are looking to be at the Olympics then the Commonwealth Games is in the right place, it is two years post or pre and can be the first indicator for people of success.

"On top of that, Team England is the most diverse team out there. You have people competing at 16 and 65, the background and the diversity is representative of England today.

"I think it is important we keep the Games alive."

Jess v Katarina

Another British athlete who benefited from Commonwealth experience early in their career was Jessica Ennis-Hill, though the bronze medal she claimed at the 2006 Games now seems a long and distant memory as she heads to Rio looking to make history. Ennis-Hill, who succeeded Lewis as Britain's heptathlon golden girl, is aiming to become the first-ever female British athlete to retain an Olympic title.

What makes things more interesting, from a British point of view, is that one of Ennis-Hill's chief rivals for gold will be team-mate Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

The 23-year-old looked set to challenge her more illustrious counterpart all the way in last year's world championships before being disqualified for three fouls in the long jump. Lewis believes the contest should make for fascinating viewing.

"Jess has so much championship experience," she says.

"She rose to the occasion in London under enormous pressure and I think she knows it is her last Olympics and will want to give it everything.

"Kat still has some questions to answer, she missed the European Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2014 while last year didn't quite work out the way she would have anticipated.

"I watched her win the European pentathlon championships and she was unbelievable, just short of a world record indoors. She does have immense talent and I reckon she can come good when it matters."

A 'very different' Olympics

Four years on from the glory of London 2012, Lewis believes the most successful athletes will be those who adjust to their surroundings quicker.

"This is going to be a very different Olympics for those athletes who competed in London," she says.

"Having been so successful last time around they want to repeat some of those performances."

At 43, Lewis remains open to her own future. Now a mother-of-three there is, she insists, "no masterplan".

"The Olympics have been that consistent thing in my life," she says. "I don't think I have missed one since the age of eight.

"I watched it before I started competing in it and then, after I had finished my career, I became a spectator again. I'm hoping that will never change."

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