Fatima Whitbread: I could probably have knocked out an ostrich

The former javelin thrower on citrus fruit, the dangers of sugar in tea and why she'd like to throw a pie at Tony Blair
Fatima Whitbread
Fatima Whitbread on her way to gold at the 1987 world championships. Photograph: Tony Duffy/Allsport

Hello Fatima! Hello Small Talk.

You're appearing at the Gold Challenge event in the new Olympic stadium on Sunday - what's the best stadium you've ever seen? Well I've not been in the Olympic Stadium in London yet, so I'm not sure until Sunday but I have travelled extensively and I've competed in many events. Stadiums vary, atmosphere is really important for athletes it's not just about the facilities it's about how close the crowd are to the track - and it creates more of an ambience, an atmosphere from the people that are there. For me, the best stadium was in Oslo for the Bislett Games because the crowds are right on to the track and they can slap the side of the perimeter boards and make this sort of noise [Smacks something repeatedly, making a dumph-dumph-dumph sound down the line]. Imagine that going all round the track and everybody getting excited and cheering on their athletes. That was a great stadium for me.

Which gave you more satisfaction – your world record in the Euros in 1986, your gold medal at the worlds in Rome 1987 or your Olympic silver in Seoul 1988?

Erm ... If I've gotta be honest those three championships were really different for me and represented different emotions. The World Championships was Britain's sole gold medal in '87 so I was enormously proud to be the one that brought that back. Of course '87 was a great year anyway because I got the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and won world athlete of the year and other athletics writers' and sports writers' awards.

Did it mean a lot to you to win the BBC Sports Personality? Yeah definitely, because that era, the 80s, were the golden years of sport. Every sport had heroes, you had Eric Bristow in darts, Nick Faldo and Woosie in golf, you had Nigel Mansell in motorsport, Steve Davis in snooker - it was a great era to live through. And to be voted by the people themselves to be sports personality of the year, that year, was something quite spectacular for me. So it was a particularly good year. But going back to the original question, '86 represented a coming of age for me with regards to winning major championships because having broken the world record in the qualifying rounds and then going back the very next day with people saying, "it's never been done, do you think you'll do it?" Having gone back the next day and won the gold medal was something quite euphoric. So yeah, that was very special. And '88, after having a breakdown in '87 in the winter wasn't ideal, so it called on all my reserves and competitive experience to pull me through. And with the adrenaline flowing I managed to throw far enough to win the silver, so that was a really proud moment.

And what will you be doing during London 2012? Keeping off the roads for one. And like everybody else, I'll have the radio on if I'm in the car probably; saturation it'll be with TV as well. My son's 14 and he's very much involved in sport so he'll be following it avidly and so will I.

Which Britons do you think are most likely to win gold? Well, I hope Rebecca Addlington will do really well in the swimming with her colleagues. Also Chris Hoy and his team in the cycling ... and Jessica Ennis ... and Mo in the distance running so that'll be great. And the little boy in the diving, Tom. Hopefully it'll all go well for them and they'll come up with the goods.

I think we can all echo that. Who is your non-sporting hero? [Mulls over the question several times ] It's really difficult because there have been many influential people over the years that have inspired me at different times in my life. Maggie Thatcher was one of them. Mary Peters was another, but she was sporting. And, I guess, Auntie Peat from my first children's home who taught me an awful lot in life. These people are instrumental to me, they're my heroes and heroines.

Great. You've also been on lots of TV programmes including Total Wipeout, Come Dine With Me, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and more famously the celebrity jungle one - but which programme would you most like to go on? I've already been on it, the jungle one, because that's the one I always wanted to do. For me it was fitting with the challenges, the learning curve, learning about yourself and discovering what it's like living with others in close proximity. The whole package is something unique and it will stay with me for the rest of my life. So I guess that's the one I wanted to do. If you asked me what I wanted to do from here on out, I couldn't answer that question. There's nothing in particular that screams at me and says yeah, that's what I wanna do. What I would like to do is make a programme on extreme challenges.

Sporting extremes or are we talking about mountain climbing and things like that? Yeah, lion walking, elephant polo, kabaddi - you know the Indian game where they play tag. I'd like to go around the world, talk a little about that place and take on a challenge. I'd like to do a programme of that nature. Then later on throw it over to the public to be challenged, there are a lot of nutters out there like me [laughs wildly].

Do you believe in fate? Yeah, definitely.

Which animal do you most feel an affinity with? Dog. I've got a really lovely Jack Russell and I've always had dogs. I've got more affinity with a dog than any other animal.

And what's your Jack Russell called? Bertie, he's a black and tan, Irish jack Russell and he's lovely.

And what is the biggest animal you reckon you could knock out with one punch? In my heyday I would have probably been able to knock out most animals [chuckles] including the human type as well!

OK, humans aside, in your heyday - what's the biggest? Erm, obviously with predators like tigers and lions you've got no chance anyway. I would have given them a good thumping that's for sure but I can't say I'd have knocked 'em out. Big animals … because I was quite strong then, I was a big strong girl, so … I don't know. It's difficult to say because animals work off the fear factor and would increase their strength like humans do. But if I caught them unaware... maybe an ostrich. I'd probably swing it round my head a few times and chuck it a huge distance.

Let's say the Guardian gave you £1million for this interview on the proviso that you had to spend it today, what would you do with it? I would sit down, write a list of friends and family and divide it amongst them. I'd also give some to the charity that I run: The 21st Century Youth, which helps children realise their dreams and keeps them off the streets.

If you could trade places with anyone for a week - famous or not famous, alive or dead, real or fictional - who would it be and why? Willy Wonka, cos I like chocolate [she giggles]. I'd make a lot of money selling my chocolate but I'd eat plenty too.

And which is your favourite chocolate bar then? Currently, a Bounty.

Is it a cycle? does it change every so often? Yeah, I like all chocolate really. I don't eat masses of it cos otherwise you just bloat out terribly, become a big heifer and that's no good.

Which politician would you most like to throw a pie at? Tony Blair. I don't think the country will recover from his term in parliament.

OK, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband: snog, marry, kill. Ed Miliband, David Cameron and who was the other one sorry?

Nick Clegg. I'd marry Cameron.. [ponders the other options] I'd snog Clegg and kill Ed Miliband?

Why would you kill poor little Ed Miliband? Cos he's irritating.

Is it a good idea for atheists to have their own temples? Providing they don't overrun in areas where they have very strong links to Christianity in Britain, yeah.

What music would you like to be played at your funeral? [Laughs] I don't know really, I haven't really thought about it. I've got a wicked sense of humour so it'd probably be some sort of stupid song. I haven't really thought about.

So you'd go for something uplifting rather than sombre? Yeah, it's definitely a celebration of one's life. The only time I'd feel it was a sombre occasion is if you lose somebody suddenly when they're unexpectedly young, and taken away from you so soon. But if they've lived a full and enjoyed then of course it should be a celebration.

So no songs that leap to mind that you'd like to have? We'll come back to that one. Is that the last question?

Nope, there's a few more. What was the last song you listened to on your iPod? It was Coldplay ... the recent one … Paradise. It's a lovely song.

What's your best characteristic? That I make a nuisance of myself and get jobs done [cackles loudly]

And your worst? I suppose I can talk all the way through programmes when you're watching them. [Giggles again] That comes from my childhood days sitting in front of the TV and nobody told us to shut up, I still do it now. Irritatingly, to my friends and family.

Coffee or tea? I love tea. Tea and biscuits.

And how do you take it? I can take with sugar or with milk or during hard training I would have sugar. But I try not to do that so often because I would mentally stack up how many sugars went in the cup over the period of a day. You gotta be careful, I'm conscious of healthy lifestyle and healthy eating.

Late nights or early mornings? I like early mornings. I'm regular when it comes to going to bed. I do like going to bed early, when you've got children you do. I like to go to bed at ten or half ten. But I'm up normally about six.

So you need your seven or eight hours. Having said that I don't sleep solidly. I'll cat nap, maybe an hour or two here and there, I'll wake. But as long as I'm in bed and laying down that's fine, I'm chilled. I'll read a book or run a checklist through my mind of what needs to be done the following day.

And what's your favourite citrus fruit? I like lemons. But not to eat, I like to use them in drinks, like tea or just water. To eat, I love cherries but that's not a citrus fruit.

No but they are good. They are good! [Laughs gleefully] Grapefruits! I like those, Pink grapefruit.

Do you put sugar on them? No I like them as they are. That's the thing about citrus fruit, if you cover it with sugar it no longer has that citrusy, tart taste.

Good point. Finally, you've had a long day, what do you order at the bar? Pimm's.

Going back to the funeral song choice question, any ideas? Maybe Bay City Rollers' 'Bye Bye Baby', something like that.

Thanks Fatima, you've been a great sport. OK Small Talk, thank you. Bye!

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