Olympics Countdown: Q&A with Rebecca Romero

What event are you taking part in?
I was an Olympic gold medallist in track cycling and silver medallist at rowing and I am now in training for the Ironman UK triathlon on 22 July in Bolton.

How did you get into sports? How old were you?
I did sports at school but I began with rowing at a higher focus at the age of seventeen. I went through the recreational section of the Yellow Pages and saw that there was a rowing club nearby; this is how I began with the Kingston Team.

What was your first ever job - and were you good at it?
My first job was delivering the local Guardian after school every Thursday. I was very good at that in fact.

I delivered hundreds and hundreds of papers; it was a massive, mega round. I was pretty good at it because I was competing against myself - to see how quickly I could pack the newspapers, how quickly I could put them into the bags and how quickly I could deliver them. That was probably my first form of training!

If an MP3 player really could only hold 3 tunes, what would you select for the ultimate soundtrack to your life?
Survivor The Moment of Truth from one of my favourite films - The Karate Kid. Muse Invincible and Sting When we Dance.

Who was your top teenage pin-up?
I didn't really have any big teenage crushes. New Kids on the Block were the pin-up band and Lee Sharpe, the footballer, was a pin-up in my teenage years.

My teammates won't know this about me but...
I love doing DIY, decorating. I'm fond of that and stuff that most people usually hate doing.

The best ever piece of device you have been given?
I've been given good advice by lots of people or else I wouldn't have got to where I am. If I had to pick one, my first coach rowing coach advised I take the sport seriously.

What would be your chosen superpower?
To be able to create fire to keep me warm whenever I need it.

How would be a typical school report about you read?
Diligent, hard working, good listener, "could do better" usually... I did once have a school report when I left junior school - I can remember that very clearly - which said Rebecca is an all-rounder, that I was not good at anything in particular. I couldn't stand that. And that's what made me determined to be good at something.

My last supper would comprise...
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

Who has been the most influential person in your life to date?
My mum

When I'm not competing I like to...
Just appreciate the really simple things, like lazing around with friends, having coffee and cakes in front of the fire.

What was the last film you saw?
Marvel's Avengers Assemble

Name your five ideal party guests, dead or alive
Eddie Izzard, intelligent, a great comedian mixed with a great knowledge of history; Muhammad Ali just because of the things he comes out with; Neil Diamond, so I can make him perform and sing, because he has such an awesome voice; the Queen who is an intriguing monarch but behind all of that, I'd like to get an insight into what she's really like; Joan of Arc- to get some feistiness there!

Marmite: foods of the gods or work of the devil?
More food of the devil